Kagome's first spring back in the feudal era. Whether reality or just some cruel trick conjured by fate, Inuyasha isn't certain. He's nearly forgotten what it's like having her in his company. Certainly not just a dream, but a whole reality reunited in some cosmic scenario of justice. His only awareness centers around that warm smile outshined only by the sun - the one only she possesses; the pleasantly rhythmic breathing in his hut during the dead of night that whispers in his ears like a soft serenade, lulling him into slumber deeper than any crevice; the sight and smell of raven hair as it billows and dances on the bows of the wind in the late-April afternoon. All of these things, mere fantasy? Or has fate finally shown kindness to the once-wretched hanyou-turned village guardian?

He doesn't want to tell her how anguish feels. Every waking moment, and even some in dreams, attest to the way he's trembled and shaken every time her absence is brought to memory. Three years is a millennia when the person being waited for happens to be Kagome. He'd rather Naraku consume him whole than experience another second without at least her scent permeating the atmosphere.

She hasn't changed, and that's what surprises him the most. Wasn't he the one who'd tried to kill her on that fateful day of their first encounter? Of course, because she possessed the Shikon no Tama. He's been just another selfish demon, wanting only to seek out and destroy the woman whose heart he was convinced had led his on a wild goose chase. Revenge, he had imagined, would be a dish best served freshly plucked, and who was he to know how one female child (because that's what she'd been) could change not only his heart, but his head, his life, and his future, for the better?

Somehow, telling her about the azaleas as they pop into bloom on fresh branches seems to be the least productive decision he can make at the moment; however, since her porcelain skin and ebony locks in contrast with colorful petals and fragrant aromas appear to be the most overwhelming combination of sight and smell in recent memory, the necessary words seem to flutter aimlessly past his lips like a whisper on the wind, carried past her ears and further over the treetops as gracefully as Kilala taking flight.

It's been a long time coming. Now she's here, and he still can't seem to overcome his personal demons. Miroku and Sango are taking a break to visit the former demon slayer tribe. Kaede and Rin are watching the kids, as they often do when their parents have errands to run. Shippo is off studying with his brethren like a studious pupil. If ever there was a chance to seize the day, today is it. Why, then, can't he voice what's so evidently at the forefront of his mind?

I love you, Kagome.

"Did you say something, Inuyasha?"

Only the most important words I'll ever say in my life, silly girl, he scolds himself mentally, as if she could discern his internal bantering. Then again, reading his mind seems to be one of her most astute abilities. You missed it because I can't let my heart lead my voice.

Watching her roll around in plant life and submerge herself in hues of pink, white, red, and violet is not normally his favorite pastime, what with how sensitive his nose is. For some reason, her garish appreciation for all things herbaceous makes his heart jump in ways he never thought possible, perhaps skipping a beat here and there, which might explain some of the lightheadedness whenever he's in her presence.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful, Inuyasha? This field is like something from a fairytale."

One person comes to mind.

She busies herself with making corsages and rings of some of the more lush specimens. She finds that placing them in her hair is not as easy as it seems, and many fall out and coat the grass. She manages to get one to stay for a few minutes, at least, but as soon as she's on her feet, it's rendered just another fragment among the rest.

She's encouraged to show him the fruits of her labor, with a flower ring on each finger and a few adorning the neckline of her yukata, where the folds meet. She makes her way toward him. It's only ten steps. Somehow, it must be a mile or more, because she's suddenly on the ground again, breathing heavily, collapsed as if exhausted.

He's at her side instantly. "Kagome!"

Everything is swirling, whirling, twirling. Aromatic. Why is the world made of flowers? As he tries to help her to her feet, all Kagome can conceive are petals and stamens and carpels and pollen, and wow, Inuyasha's broad chest against hers feels nice. His frame is sturdy like the trunk of the Goshinboku, and his arms strong like its branches, reaching out to cradle her carefully in their embrace. She fears she might fall, because it's a long way down. His hold on her tightens. She feels safe.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha's voice turns from worried to scared in a millisecond, and it might upgrade to panic if she doesn't answer him soon. Her body is burning up. It's only spring, the air around them still cool in comparison to the fire licking flames on her skin. She acts as if she's come under a severe case of heat stroke. Maybe she has.

"Everything's hot…" she mutters, nearly inaudible. If not for his overly sensitive hearing, she would be.

"Let me carry you to Kaede. Maybe she'll know what's wrong. You can't even stand on your own, can you?"

Her senses are overwhelmed with fragrance and heat and light. Her eyes are drawn to her companion's mouth as he shouts rounds of encouragement for her to remain upright long enough for him to drape her over his back. His right hand circles her shoulder to draw her further off the ground, but her attention is suddenly averted to the interesting movements his mouth makes as he repeats her name for clarification.

It sounds nice. Like a bird singing to its mate, or the wind rustling through Inuyasha's forest. Right below his mouth is his chin, and below that, the contours of his smooth neck. The whole package, from the way her hanyou says her name repeatedly in order to keep her awake, and the movement of his lips as they utter those three familiar syllables that make up her identity, begin to look more and more inviting with each passing second.

An unusual idea enters her mind. She wonders if he tastes as good as he smells. She also wonders if he cares to let her find out. Because the urge to feel the skin of his neck against her tongue is overpowering, and she doesn't know if she can handle any protest.

Her curiosity gets the better of her, and Inuyasha finds that having Kagome's warm mouth work sinful patterns of heat and velvet across the sensitive skin of where shoulder meets neck is not the most unpleasant feeling in the world. In fact, he thinks it rather spectacular when she finds her way beneath the neckline of his kimono, tracing lines of sinew along his shoulder so cleverly with her oral muscle that he can't stop the moan from escaping his lips. It breaks free like a reluctant confession of feelings or a once-caged animal coming after its prey.

Her hands fall to untie the sash that keeps his entire ensemble together. Her hands work their way deeper inside his clothing, caressing welcoming skin and moving along muscles untouched by a woman in this way for decades. Wait a minute…

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's more rational side remembers that he's supposed to take this suddenly brazen girl to see Kaede and figure out why she seemed to be suffering a fever. However, her present actions seem calculated, and she doesn't fumble with his clothing as one might expect from someone completely out of her mind. Even as he tries to pull away and direct her eyes to meet his once more, it's apparent that she's not confused or struggling at all to find her bearings. In fact, she knows exactly what she's doing, and he becomes clearly aware of this fact when her hand falls to the bulge in his lap and squeezes it in her palm. Hard.

Inuyasha yelps like the quintessential dog that he is, quickly thrusting the girl's form away from him faster than one of Shippo's transformations. She reaches to palpate his junk again, but this time, Inuyasha sees it coming, and he's prepared. She's on her back instantaneously, with a horny and somewhat flustered hanyou looming over her like a solar eclipse embodiment of sex and spring. Her vision blurs and birds continue singing in her ears, and all the while, the incessant aroma of flowers creates an intoxicating blur behind her eyes that makes Inuyasha seem all the more desirable.

Voices tell her that this specimen is ripe for the taking. Probably the flowers. He's young, strong, and full of life and vitality. Her baser instincts are encouraged to take advantage of such perfection. The ears are a nice touch, the voices say. It's as if she's looking at him for the first time. Why hasn't she seen the potential in him as a mate before? Possibly because the wind never before whispered to her the secrets of pleasing a man, and the pure pheromonesque excretions of plant life never before heightened her own desire for the one towering over her.

"Kagome. You've gotta snap out of it! Something's wrong! You…"

Eyes flooding with desire, Inuyasha's tendrils are the perfect tool to instigate the face-to-face confrontation she needs. A quick tug to one places his face mere centimeters from her lips, and the man can't help but notice a crimson flush to her rosy cheeks, a new and interesting sort of puffiness to her wet lips, and an implicit splash of desire in the back of her eyes that he hasn't seen since the days Kikyo spent time in his company…scratch that, he's never seen anything like this before. Nothing can compare. Not even what might have been with his former lover.

Kagome's eyes are alive. Alive with fire and passion and love for him. Alive like Kikyo's never were.

Breathing heavily and erratically, Kagome's voice is more desperate and primal than anything he thinks he's ever heard before.

"Inuyasha…I don't know what's come over me…but right now, I need this. I need you!"

She rubs her lower half against his own for emphasis. His breathing is ragged, and if he weren't a half demon, he would have succumbed to weak human hormones the moment she grabbed his crotch. Kagome insists that she needs him, but he can't help questioning exactly what that means. This wasn't supposed to be a meaningless trounce in the woods. This isn't exactly how he pictured his first time with her. However, her current presence as a writhing, attractive, and voluptuous female in a bed of aromatic and beautiful flowers, demanding that he service her without any qualms as to the consequences of their actions, is definitely not the worst scenario he can think of. In fact, he might even go so far as to suggest it's better than anything his weak imagination could conjure up.

"Kagome…you're worth more to me than…"

Smiling and brain still foggy, Kagome leans up slightly to crush her lips to his own. Her hands fumble with clothing she's still getting the hang of removing, and ceaseless exclamations of "I know! I know!" in between desperate gasps for breath and kisses provide quite the striking contrast to his former expectations.

Kagome's not a lifeless lover. At least, frantic Kagome high on spring fumes wants Inuyasha as close and naked as humanly (and demonly) possible. Inuyasha's shirt is a minor passing thought of white and red blurs in his peripheral vision, and the hanyou finds himself nearing the first stage of undress in a matter of seconds. Her clothes seem to be undoing themselves, but perhaps he can use his superhuman abilities to speed up the process?

The most carnal noise ever emitted past her lips is heard as his large hand grasps her breast in his expectant palm. Even through two layers of thick fabric, she can feel him weighing the globe in his hand, gently testing the limits of his newfound power to rip her sanity apart completely at the seams. Maybe her current brain haze is responsible for subduing any and all modesty she might have felt at his touch. However, the exposure of both breasts to the cool afternoon air is not only a relief to the inferno enveloping her form, but the sensation of two clawed hands carefully squeezing them together and engulfing both nipples within a vacuum of moist heat doesn't make it any easier to avoid calling out his name in desperation.

"Inu...yashaaaa!"

That word exclaimed in such a manner is the only thing he wants to hear audibly for the next one thousand years. The salt of her skin and her snake-like tongue are the only things he wants to taste until the day he draws his last breath. Learning every detailed inch of this woman's body is the only endeavor he wants to undertake for the next one million lifetimes.

Becoming one with her is the only thing that matters more than the first three ideals.

She tests how many ways she can shout his name as his tongue wanders down to explore the fresh expanse of heaving ribs, lean hips, and smooth belly. A short stop to excavate her navel is the only detour he takes in his exploration to the one place he's never seen before. The ties of her hakama give him pause, but he's delighted to realize that she's only wearing one layer beneath the infernal article separating him from her place of utmost desire. Those pan-tee things she wears are soaking wet, and he can nearly make out the image of her womanhood through the simple, white fabric.

He doesn't give her a chance to protest, because he doesn't think she has the energy for it, anyway. Her pan-tees are torn to shreds with a mere few flicks of his powerful claws, and he entertains himself with a feast made entirely of the best things Kagome's body has to offer. He doesn't think he's ever heard her moan so loudly, or had his face pulled so tightly into any place so wet, pink, and perfect. Breathing is a problem, but it might be an interesting way for his life to end, all things considered. She's especially lively when he teases the bud directly above her opening. At the very least, her legs wrapping more tightly around his face would indicate that he's found her weak point.

He never imagined his ears could be an erogenous zone, but they flicker wildly in her grasp as she desperately seeks to ground herself with white, fuzzy triangles that are somehow connected directly to his little minion. The need to consume her heightens exponentially, and he can't contain his instincts as the last vestiges of his own clothing are removed and tossed haphazardly into the wind.

Sinking into Kagome, feeling the all-encompassing warmth of her body surrounding him like a blanket of euphoric ecstasy, confirms that the fear of being alone is no longer a reality. If he wasn't sure before, he definitely is now, as variations of his name are the only things that hold any importance to his lustful brain. Her own name escapes past his clenched fangs one, two, three times in tandem. The chorus of their lovemaking, his whispered "I love you"s into the shell of her ear, mixed with the promise of new life springing forth all around them, remind Inuyasha that he's home. Finally, undeniably, home, once and for all.

Kagome doesn't remember the exact moment the fog of craziness leaves her and normalcy resumes. It's shortly following Inuyasha's admission of love for her that she recalls the most rapid return to sanity. Her ability to walk in a straight line is no longer impaired as they make their way sluggishly back to the village in post-coitus bliss. Perhaps her earlier lapse in cognitive and motor function is mere coincidence.

Inuyasha doesn't seem to care either way, even though he doesn't stop smirking well into the evening following their fateful encounter in the field.

"Spring demons are finical little things, I guess," he proclaims to no one in particular. "Sometimes all they want is for you to be true to yourself."

"Did you say something, Inuyasha?" Kagome questions curiously, preparing a sample of herbs for Kaede to give to a sickly patron in the morning.

He's not one to laugh out loud very often, but Kagome swears she can hear him chuckle audibly.

"I'll tell you later, when I can keep a straight face."

c h a o s v i p e r . t u m b l r . c o m