A/N: Sorry for the late update! Thanks to all who were patient with me. I hope this chapter makes up for my tardiness. And now, without further ado, here's the update you've been waiting for.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but if I did, this pairing would've happened a long time ago.

Warning: This chapter contains some lemony goodness. Now scoot, kiddies! Scoot!

Winded Blade

Chapter 9: Aerió (Part I)

Heat exploded between them the instant their lips met, and the tension that had been stretched taut between them for all this time snapped like a rubber band. All coherent thought went out the window as Bankotsu made love to Kagura's mouth with his lips, teeth and tongue. Climate aside, they were creating their own haze of warmth with the urgency of their kiss, the longing of each labored breath.

Bankotsu's hand curled into Kagura's hair, disturbing the pins holding her hair up. Kagura's limbs radiated with the warmth of their intimate embrace, and she felt her body respond with a throbbing ache that longed for relief, for the completion of this act. Without much thought on her part, she lifted her arms to his broad shoulders, smoothing her hands against his clothed and unclothed flesh. It was a sensory overload, and drew an unexpected moan from her, which he swallowed with and expert swoop of his tongue.

Her hands slipped lower, finding the hardened plains of his chest. His muscles quivered and flexed beneath her touch, and she wondered what it would feel like to have his bare chest pressed to her own. She fought the urge to tear at his clothing just to find out, and instead, clenched her fists against the front of haori. After several minutes of breath-stealing kisses, Bankotsu drew away from her, eyes dark and predatory. Before Kagura could question his motives for breaking their intense contact, his hands found her breasts, drawing circles around the peaks through her kimono, until they hardened beneath his touch.

Kagura gasped beneath him, her mind racing with thoughts of his mouth there at her breasts, suckling at her nipples, intensifying her aching longing for him, while at the same time bringing her some relief. She arched off the ground, bringing her mounds more fully into his hands, her eyes glazed over with the desire to become one with him.

"What do you want, Kagura?" His voice was thick with desire, and it was reflected within the depths of his eyes.

She locked gazes with him, body quivering in anticipation. "I . . . I want you to . . . to touch me."

Bankotsu shot her smirk, eyes dropping to her breasts and her hardened nipples begging to be teased. He hooked a finger in the loose knot of her obi and pulled, undoing the tie with little effort. The instant the fabric loosened, his hands parted the folds of her kimono, revealing her bare breasts to his scrutiny.

"No bindings, Kagura?" He arched a brow, looking seductive with a grin stretching his features.

Kagura blushed, turning her head away in embarrassment; her head snapped back in his direction however, when she felt the first tentative brush of his thumbs against her hardened nipples. A moan escaped her parted lips before her eyes fluttered closed. Bankotsu watched this reaction with avid interest, turned on by the display and her quiet moan. He wanted to hear more. Drawing the round flesh of her right breast into his hand, he leaned down and captured the rose-colored bud in his mouth, flicking out his tongue to taste her engorged flesh. Her response was that much louder, and he smiled to himself as her hand found his hair. He could feel the bite of her nails digging into his scalp as he continued to pleasure her this way, but he was too far gone to concern himself with the wounds that might result from her rough treatment.

Kagura thrashed beneath him, feeling the ache between her legs intensify. She needed relief, and she needed it now. She ground her thighs together, trying to temper the throbbing want that was slowly driving her mad. She felt his desire for her, hard and ready against her abdomen, and pressed herself against him, longing to give him pleasure. He stilled her movements beneath him with firm hands pressed to her shoulders, even as he continued to tap, suck and swirl his tongue against her right nipple. He pulled away a moment later, after a tantalizing tug on her nipple with his lips. He admired his handiwork from above—Kagura's body was flushed, coated in sweat, and her eyes were a deep cranberry red, a product of her desire for him.

Banktosu grunted in both pain and pleasure as she yanked him down to her by his braid, drawing his lips to hers in a jarring clash. He groaned into her mouth, pleased by her boldness. He was so caught up in their kiss, he barely registered that her clever hands had found their way to his member, stoking it with a fever that matched the way she plundered his mouth with her tongue. He tore his mouth from hers with a groan, basking in the pleasure she was giving him.

If she keeps this up, I'll—

His thoughts halted as she applied some pressure, propelling him that much closer to the edge of oblivion. He thrust into her hand involuntary, letting out a hiss of breath. It took more will power than he cared to admit to put a stop of her tempting ministrations. He caught her wrist and drew her hand away from his body, collecting the other to join the first as he pinned them above her head. He panted above her, attempting to regain his composure as she lay there, fighting the vice grip he had on her wrists. Using his free hand, he traced a path from the valley between her breasts to where their hips met with a single finger; then his mouth followed suit, easing down her body, guided by a predetermined path. When he met the fabric of the lower half of her kimono, he brushed it aside, revealing the part of her body he'd longed to possess.

A shudder jolted up Kagura's spine when she felt the air meet the lower half of her body, and looked down to find Bankotsu staring closely at her womanhood, left hand planted just above the curls that guarded her aching core. When he met her gaze with his, it was filled with a pained longing, and something else she couldn't quite identify.

"You're beautiful, Kagura," he said as his hand slipped lower, brushing past her curls to her dripping core.

Kagura jolted beneath his touch when he ran his middle finger from her entrance to her swollen clit.

"And so . . . so wet . . ."

Her essence coated his appendage, and he burned with the thought of tasting her for real, as he looked from his finger to her face. Her eyes were hooded, and her fingers tore at the grass beneath her, plucking blade after blade from the ground.

"Say my name . . . Kagura," he demanded, gaze locked with hers.

Kagura lips parted, fully intending to obey his demand, but no sound would come. Apparently Bankotsu felt the need to help things along by finding her clit, and applying pressure to it, before rotating the pad of his thumb against it.

"Say it."

Kagura arched into the intimate press of his fingers as stars burst behind her closed eyelids. A ragged moan left her as she bucked her hips in time with Bankotsu's ministrations.

"Say it," he said, and his words were followed by what could only be described as a growl.

He released her wrists and cupped her left breast, teasing her with circles against her nipple, ones that matched the maddening pace with which he pleasured her down below.

"B-Ban-Bakotsu . . ."

Hearing his name trapped by one of her delicious moans, drove him wild with the need to make her say it over and over again as he pleasured her body in so many ways.

"Again," he growled, pinching her nipple lightly.

When all he could milk from her were more moans, he trailed his middle finger down to her entrance, and pressed it inside. He groaned as the warmth of her walls swallowed his appendage, clenching tight at first before relaxing against the intrusion.

"Say it again . . . Kagura . . . Let me hear it." It was meant to be a demand, but came across as a plea, but, the devil take him, he could care less what he sounded like, as long as he heard his name mixed artfully with the her moans.

He leaned forward, bringing his mouth to her left nipple. A moan, bordering on a sob, eased past her parted lips, but quickly morphed into an outright cry of ecstasy when he inserted a second finger, stretching her. His mouth left her breast, trailing down her abdomen stopping in the space between her navel, and the smooth plain leading to her womanhood.

"Say it . . ." he breathed against her flesh, sending a fine tremble through her.

Bankotsu, arched his fingers upward stroking a spot that tore another cry from her. Just as Kagura was formulating the syllables of his name, she felt a presence that made her stiffen. She lifted her right hand to his shoulder, trying to get his attention even through her own haze of desire. His kisses against her skin were driving her to a great distraction, but nothing could rid her body of the paranoid fear dripping down her spine.

"N-Naraku . . ." It was whispered, but Bankotsu picked up her utterance easily.

Annoyance was etched into his features as he withdrew his mouth from her skin. "What?"

"Naraku . . . H-He's here . . ."

Bankostsu stiffened against her, withdrawing his fingers from her, and lifting his weight off of her. He brought the folds of her kimono together and stood, turning to face Naraku, the bane of his existence. He heard the shift of grass behind him as Kagura stood, setting her clothing to rights. She joined him at his side, hair and clothes still in slight disarray, but a hard look painting her features. He would've preferred her look of passionate ecstasy, but now was not the time to allow his desires to take a hold of his mind. The sexually charged moment was gone, leaving them with a taut stretch of tension bordering on apprehension.

"Where is he?" He whispered, but he knew Naraku could hear them, regardless of what volume he used to voice his question.

"Over there." Kagura pointed to a copse of trees gathered at their right.

There was an unusual depth to the shadows there, and Banktosu crouched, lifting his Banryu onto his shoulder. Kagura brandished her fan, body set on high alert as she waited for Naraku to appear. As always, Naraku did not disappoint, gliding from among the deep shadows to stand several feet away from the pair. He was dressed in his trademark bamboo pelt, leaving only his lower chin visible.

"Well done, Kagura, Banktosu, in your defeat of Yazino, the Tree Psiren. Now hand over the shards of the Jewel."

"And what if we don't?" Bankotsu tightened his grip on his Banryu, preparing himself for battle.

"Then I'll have no choice but to destroy you."

Naraku thrust his arm forward, tentacles rocketing toward Kagura and Bankotsu. They leapt in opposite directions, moments before Naraku's attack hit home, and charged at him in unison, weapons brandished for a dual assault. Kagura directed her Dance of Blades his way, while Bankotsu hacked and slashed away at the tentacles launched in his direction.

Sweat poured into Bankotsu's eyes, obscuring his vision, but not weakening his resolve to fight until the bitter end. When his limbs grew heavy with a sudden wash of lethargy, however, he was unable to block the attack Naraku had launched his way. It struck him square in the chest, lifting him high for a few seconds.

"Bankotsu," Kagura cried when he was lifted airborne.

Thinking quickly, she created two beds of wind resistance beneath him to break his fall, before she sent two Deadly Blades Naraku's way, successfully decapitating him and slicing through his heart. She watched the head roll to a stop several feet away, and the body crumble, settling into a heap of dust.

"A demon puppet . . . Should've known . . ."

Kagura rushed over to Bankotsu's side; he was so terribly still, eyes closed as though he were asleep. She lifted his head into her lap, and brushed a hand down his face, silently begging for him to wake up. Naraku's ominous laughter echoed behind her, and she turned to find the demon puppet's head upright, facing in her direction.

"What have you done to him?"

"Nothing, but perhaps you could've asked Yazino about it if you hadn't killed her . . ." Naraku's laughter reverberated among the trees, before fading away.

Kagura returned her attention to Bankotsu, mind racing with questions. She thought back to their fight with Yazino, replaying all the details of the battle, until she came to the moment when Bankotsu was trapped against the tree. Then she thought back to the rumors Bankotsu shared with her about Yazino, moments before blood gushed from Bankotsu's chest.

A/N: Sorry for the short update. I didn't want to jump to far ahead, because I'm still working out details for the future of this story. I hope this update is satisfactory, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. And as always, the poll for next week's update is up. Since I only have three stories on the list left to update, I've added three new stories as choices. If you need more info about these stories, feel free to send me a PM.

Silver Moon Vampiress