The Hot Springs

Chapter Seventeen

"Die!!!" Ikkatsu screamed, running at him. Her white-knuckled fingers curled inward, as though trying to pop someone's skull, and two large fireballs flared to life in her palms. Twenty feet from him and still running, she threw them--one at his body and one toward his head. Her aim was off, but it was close enough. Toku ducked left, trying to draw her fire away from the cave entrance. He dodged the fireballs quite easily, readying his stance as she skidded to a stop. The wall of the ravine exploded behind him as the fireballs hit, the concussion of which pushed him forward, but he held his ground, ignoring the bits of rock that sprayed at the back of his head. Dust billowed forth.

She moved her hands again, clasping them together. Pulling one hand out as if polishing a sword, a flame appeared between her two hands, straight and stiff. Reaching the tip, she brought her hand down, forming another fireball. Now armed with a sword of flame and another ranged attack, she looked positively menacing and Toku couldn't help but be impressed.

"Aaaaah!" Toku flinched. Her war cry was extremely high-pitched, something his father had not told him about. It was a deafening wail, and its vibrations hurt his eardrums. Now I know why fire demons are so dangerous.

He ran forward to attack.

"Hikari no Kaimen," he softly whispered, swinging his sword down with speed and accuracy. His father had given him, like his other siblings, a truly unique sword. Inutaisho's sword was extremely poisonous and a bite from it was lethal. It controlled the fluids within the body and could poison anything--even demons whose specialty was poison. Only the strongest and oldest of demons could be immune to it because survival required 100% control of your body's own composition.

Karran's sword, lighter than the rest, controlled the elements. She had created strange ways of killing demons using that sword. She choked one to death by forcing mud down his throat and sealing his mouth and nose with ice. Air, fire, water, earth, lightning, wind, and ice...the sword fit her perfectly. She was so flighty and foolhardy sometimes, with a short temper and a cold glare, but she was strong, graceful like her mother, and was the only child of Sesshoumaru's that could phase the way he did. Whenever her mother was near, though, Karran was down-to-earth and tremendously smart, though her strange sense of humor still earned a lot of gasps from her mother.

Genbu's sword reflected his strong, direct nature. It controlled the power of strength, both within the body and outside of it. It could break through barriers, slice through mountains, and mow down a field of demons, but its specialty was in the magic it could cast. It could create a shell around his body that never weakened to physical blows. Around enemies, the shell could contract until the person within was reduced to the size of a pebble. It could paralyze an enemy, having the power to sap all of their strength. His father often compared it to his half-brother's sword, but always gloated that it had more uses and was far more powerful.

Then there was Toku's sword. His sword controlled life energy and the power of light and darkness. It was quiet like him, performing almost all of its attacks in complete silence, and its speed was unmatched. He could steal the light from an enemy's eyes, blinding him. He could harness the light of the sun or moon and direct it at an enemy on an exponential scale. The dark aspect of his sword could conceal his body, making him invisible in daylight or nighttime. His sword also harnessed the pitch black of a tomb--consuming the energy of a demon. However, it was similar to his father's first sword in that it could restore the life of any being. It stored the basic life essence of his enemies, which he could use to create life in another that had died.

In swinging down his sword, Toku had taken the light from the flame of her sword, literally sucking it out of her hands. Ikkatsu gasped in surprise, looking at him with a strange mix of anger and fear. She hastily backed away, putting a fair distance between them.

"A light user?" she somewhat accurately guessed, but he wasn't about to correct her. Setting her jaw, she stood still, hands at her hands, and closed her eyes. Toku was too interested to see what she was doing to think about attacking her before she could complete her next move. She began a short but intricate dance. She brought her hands together, making an odd form with her fingers, and put one foot forward. Muttering under her breath and pulling her hands apart, she flung her arms out and then up above her head. Opening her eyes again, she suddenly dropped to her haunches, smacking her hands down on the ground. Heat poured forth, and he felt rather than saw something flowing into her body from the ground.

Now this he had heard of.

Fire demons had the power to call and use the Black Fires of Hell. It was the only light source, if you could call it light, from which his sword could not draw using Hikari no Kaimen. Pressing the flat of his blade to his forehead, he muttered a new aspect,

"Hikari no Fuzai." Tipping his sword down until it touched the ground, he pulled the darkness around him like a cloak, concealing his body and making it invisible. Seeing that he was disappearing, she quickened her attack, opening her mouth and taking a deep breath. The black fires burst from her throat in a long, widening stream, but it was too late. He had ducked right and closed the distance between them by half. Thanks to the rock bottom of the ravine, she wouldn't be able to see his footprints moving towards her, and the dust from her earlier attack was beginning to settle, so it wouldn't be able to help her, either. Toku watched her for her next move.

"Damn you!" she screamed, looking around for any sign of movement. She kept her hands planted, drawing up more of the hellish power, and made one wide sweep of the area in front of her, spewing the flames from her left to her right. He was forced to roll forward and then flatten himself to avoid the attack, but she missed him by a far margin.

He had to get closer.

Rising from the ground as quietly as he could, he slowly walked forward, rolling his ankles to avoid making any sound with his footsteps. She was stock still, obviously listening for him. He could feel the intensity of the heat rolling off of her as she drew more power, readying another attack for when he made a mistake. When he was within arm's length of her, he raised his sword, pointing the tip at her nose.

"Moumoku," he said in his quiet voice.

She whipped her face to him, but gasped when she saw nothing there. In fact, everything was pitch-black. He had blinded her!

She screamed, breaking her connection with the ground. Her eyes snapped shut, as if she could reverse the damage by closing them, and she rolled back, scrambling as far away as she could before coming to a stand. Toku felt it safe to drop his invisibility, and watched her reaction.

"I hate you! I hate you! Your family has made a ruin of mine!" Her eyes were squeezed shut, face tilted downwards, and her fists shook with fury. "I have no family left! And I can't even have my vengeance!" She opened her unseeing eyes, looking to the sky as hot tears trailed down her cheeks, causing steam to rise from her face. "I don't want to go back there..." Toku's heart stopped, realizing what she was planning to do. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her heart slowing down as she calmed herself. Her hands fanned at her sides, and a few licks of black flame seeped out.

She still had a store of them in her body.

The tears dried on her cheeks and she took deep breaths, picturing the night sky in her mind's eye. Brother. Sister. We'll soon be together again. Bringing her palms to her chest, she began to release the flame.

"Stop it!" she heard in front of her. She felt him pivot around her, his chest brushing her shoulder. Gasping as two powerful arms came around her, Ikkatsu tried to resist when his hands gripped her wrists, but fire demons were not known for their physical strength, and he easily opened her arms, pointing her palms to the sides as they released two large, black fireballs. They rammed into the sides of the ravine, loosening some boulders farther up, but they landed far from Toku and Ikkatsu.

"Let go of me! Either you kill me or I kill myself! Does it matter who does it?" she yelled as she struggled to get her wrists out of his hands. He released one, trying not to react to the intense heat of her skin, and whipped her around. Grabbing her wrist again when she tried to jerk her other one out of his grip, he pulled her closer, angry that she would take her own life. She was still blind, so balance and keeping her footing was harder and she slipped, but he hauled her back up, gripping her wrists hard enough to make the tendons creak.

"Aaah!" she gasped, immediately calming down. He released the spell from her eyes, restoring her vision, and she blinked several times before looking at him.

"Do you know how rare you are?" he asked, his tone soft. His question confused her; especially because of the way he said it.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, her voice breathless and tired. Calling upon the Forbidden Fires was draining, and it would be several days before she was able to do it again.

"Fire demons are extremely rare. You were originally created by dark priests to do battle for them, and bred amongst yourselves once you were free of from servitude, but now your numbers dwindle, and no one summons fire demons anymore--too hard to control. So you're rare. You shouldn't kill yourself," he reasoned, shaking her once. Her jaw stiffened.

"Your father didn't seem to mind killing my brother," she spat, her anger renewing.

"What do you know of what happened? A few months ago, my father told us that some young demon waltzed up to him and started a fight. He gave no explanation, and my father did not ask for one. Perhaps your brother lied to you about his intentions. He wanted the Western Lands and he wanted them now. No amount of waiting, married to some half-demon daughter, would suit him," he suggested, shocking the anger out of her face. Half-demon? Lord Sesshoumaru mated with a human?

"My brother would not lie to me!" she affirmed, fisting her hands.

"You called him ambitious. He desired power. Lying isn't that far off." Ikkatsu shook her head, her shoulders drooping. Her hands now lay limp in his hands. He released them slowly and her arms dropped down to her sides. She heard the hiss and clink of steel as he picked up the sword he had dropped next to her.

"What am I to do now? I have no family left," she quietly asked herself. His finger touched her chin, raising it up until he could look into her eyes. He stared at her for perhaps only ten seconds, but it felt like a week to her.

"You'll join my family," he announced. She blinked at him, dumbfounded.

"T-Toku," she whispered. "I can't. I can't do that!" she insisted, taking a step back. He took a step forward, snaking his left arm around her.

"Yes, you can. I've seen the way you look at me. I want you, too," he softly answered, tightening his arm. "And once you meet my father, you'll have the truth from him." Ikkatsu's heart was pounding. The entire day just had too many surprises!

"He-...No, no--" she began, trying to dislodge herself from within his arm. His other hand still held his sword, or else he might have hugged her completely to him.

"You're at least coming to the house, whether you like it or not. I know where to find the right rope for fire demons," he grumbled, bringing his face closer. Ikkatsu was breathing a mile-a-minute now, too embarrassed, confused, and...dare she say it, aroused, to keep herself calm. Latching onto his last statement, she tried to secure her freedom.

"Well, then--how will you keep me under control until you get this 'rope'?" she challenged, her voice a bit shaky. He gave her his first smile, a quiet one that indicated he knew more than people thought. His lips settled on hers and she stiffened in shock. Toku's heart leapt. Her lips were very warm and very soft, and his mind jumped immediately to a future time when she might use these lips for an even more pleasurable purpose. He kept the kiss simple, though, and ended it quickly.

"Don't worry, it's not far," he said, raising the hand with the sword in it.

"What's not--" He hit the back of her head with the hilt of his sword and she went limp in his arms. The only drawback to being an elemental demon of a non-solid element like air and fire was that you were not only vulnerable elements to that opposed your own, but to physical attacks as well. The gunshot wound that killed her sister was enough proof of that drawback, so Toku knew he was safe with a little tap on the head. She was out like a light. He smirked over the pun.

Shifting her carefully, he sheathed his sword and brought her back to the cave. His brother was waiting at the entrance, having watched the exchange.

"Well, I guess that's one way to bring a fire demon down," Genbu commented.

"Yes, I didn't even have to wound her. I had the spots all picked out, but she proved to be worse with using her own powers than I thought," Toku replied, taking her inside. He laid her on the blanket and then turned to his brother, who raised a single eyebrow at him.

"What? Do you disapprove of my choice for a mate?" he asked smoothly and calmly, standing taller.

"No, she's an excellent choice. She'll breed very powerful children with you. I am only saddened by the strange method of wooing you used. How unromantic," Genbu chided, shaking his head.

"Hey...shut up..."

Rin stretched her legs, still lying upon the blanket--or rather, upon Sesshoumaru--and felt the wonderful soreness from a good night of sex. Her muscles were stiff, but they would loosen up soon enough. Last night, after they retrieved her sandals and made it back to camp, she fell asleep on her side with her mate spooned behind her, but twice before the dawn, he gently nudged her awake and made love to her again. Both had been slow and gentle, marked only by gasps and a few sighs.

Now that the sun was awake again to brighten another day, Rin felt a strange new energy. She kissed her husband good morning before running off towards the river to freshen up, and Sesshoumaru prepared the horse, which had to be fed and watered for the last leg of the journey. When his mate returned, she was clean, her cheeks rosy, and her kimono flawlessly tied. He helped her onto the horse and then joined her, holding her close.

Inuyasha Forest was surprisingly free of much undergrowth, unlike the Weeping Forest. The trees were tall and thin, with far-spreading branches. The paths were easily visible and generally wide enough for carts, thanks to the work of humans. They took the first path at a gallop, with Rin's legs to one side and her arms holding Sesshoumaru for security. She let herself sift through her memories of Karran, and was soon almost too excited to see her to bear it at all.

Karran was certainly the strangest of her children. Her sense of humor... Rin half-giggled and half-grimaced to herself just thinking about some choice comments that had stuck with her. Karran just went where her soul pointed her. She was the most free-minded, strong-willed person that Rin had ever met--besides her Sesshoumaru, of course. But even he didn't possess Karran's humorous side.

And soon, she would see her beloved daughter again.

"Inuyasha-sama, my grandfather would be clucking his tongue at you right now. I can just imagine grandmother rolling her eyes. What do you plan to do by sitting there all day and all night?" Shimizu asked. Though he didn't take after his father and grandfather before him in his choice of profession, he followed their wills to look after the well-being of a close family friend---he was a half-dog demon, but Shimizu, ever since he was a child, knew that Inuyasha was the best of men...in the loosest sense of the phrase. His older brother, Tansui, had become a monk ...also in the loosest sense of the word. He was too much like their grandfather.

Shimizu's grandfather, Miroku, had died almost ten years ago, right after his grandmother, Sango, had died. It was a sad year, and Inuyasha, having lost his wife to old age six years before that, took the blow pretty hard. Only his friend, Shippou, who visited whenever he could, gave him any sort of real company. When the time came for his mate to rejoin him, Inuyasha searched the countryside for her, always feeling her presence but unable to find it. It was as if she walked in another fold of time than he did.

Shimizu didn't know until a few weeks ago how correct he was. It was shocking to believe that Kagome-san was not from their world (or rather, from their time)--her secret had been kept safe, even from him and his brother. He had always wondered where she and Inuyasha would go for long periods of time, and his parents always told him that they were simply on a vacation. This was even harder to understand...no one in his village took vacations. They took trips to sell goods, marry off daughters, or visit grandchildren, but not to simply rest somewhere.

One of Inuyasha and Kagome's sons was still around--Kouryoku. He had been educated in this other world, and according to Inuyasha, he looked enough like a full human to be unnoticed. His hair was black, like his mother's, but they had to give him something to change his eye color from yellow to brown--something called "contacts".

Supposedly, Kouryoku was in this other world right now, looking for his reincarnated mother, but Inuyasha could not enter the well anymore. Why he could not use the well, after having been back and forth hundreds of times when his wife was alive, was still a mystery, but Shimizu's father had theorized that the reincarnation, which contained the essence of the Shikon no Tama, had to be near the well to activate it. Even more baffling was that Kouryoku could still use the well, something which Shimizu's father was still studying.

The other of Inuyasha and Kagome's sons had died because he picked a fight with a demon too strong for him. Kouryoku had received a sword from his father upon his fifteenth birthday, so the younger son wanted to prove his own strength. The body, when Inuyasha found the rest of it, was too shredded to be saved, even if Inuyasha's half-brother were called to help--which he wasn't. Inuyasha, in a rage, killed the entire clan of demons that had slain his son, and Kagome cried for weeks--at least, that's what his mother had told him. It was why he never asked about their children, or why they hadn't had more. He still desired to know, but now was not the time.

"I have nothing else to do, Shimizu. Let me wait for her," he answered. Shimizu always wondered where this temper his grandfather had always told him about was. Grandfather would talk about how Inuyasha became rude any time something he didn't like happened, but Shimizu thought of him as being fairly mature...a little too bold and direct, but he controlled his temper very well. Perhaps it was when he was young. The young are always hot-tempered.

"The sun is an hour from setting. Why don't you come eat with us?" he implored, giving a last ditch effort to bring him back to the village. Inuyasha sighed, taking a deep breath as he turned to look at the grandchild of Miroku. He caught a scent, though and stood up, taking a deep breath. Shimizu watched him turn towards the northwest and inhale again, his body stiffening.

"Sesshoumaru...?" he asked himself, sniffing again. Then shooting off in a sprint, he left Shimizu behind, who shouted after him,

"Hey! What's wrong?!"

The source wasn't far--only half a mile maybe. He could smell Sesshoumaru's mate also, though her scent was a little different than he remembered--probably because she was a reincarnation. He hoped that Kagome smelled the same; he didn't want her to be at all different.

As he came closer to their location, he could also smell a horse and wrinkled his nose, thinking that Sesshoumaru was going soft if he was riding a horse. Going back to his mate's scent, he tried to define what was different and it dawned on him that she must be with child. It had been so long since Kagome had smelled like that...

Sesshoumaru slowed the horse and Rin looked around, wondering what was the matter. She did not yet see a village in the distance, though the forest was starting to thin, so she looked to her husband for an explanation.

"My brother has caught our scent. He's on his way to 'greet' us, I suppose," Sesshoumaru explained. He had not spoken to his half-brother since a few days before Rin died sixteen years ago. He had thought of him once in a while and had heard news of that Kagome girl's death from his daughter, but over the years, seeking his brother's company was avoided. He knew it would be too painful for them both. Indeed, it was hard to keep company with any of his children, for they held a bit of her scent. But he loved his children despite the cold demeanor he usually displayed, and kept his promise to Rin to remain an attentive father.

"Do you suppose he'll be happy to see us?" Rin never really came to know Inuyasha very well. She was acquainted with his wife and had heard of his children, but somehow neither family had met--and her husband was probably the reason why.

That's something I'll have to change this time.

"I doubt 'happy' is the correct word, but he'll be interested to see us."

Suddenly appearing on the path, Inuyasha skidded to a halt; his face was serious, and his eyes searched their party. Rin's mouth was a bit ajar as she studied him. In her memories, he always wore a red outfit made of some strange animal pelt, but he seemed to have at least learned a bit of fashion sense, for now he wore black hakama with a normal red haori. His clothes made him look similar to Genbu, though their facial structures differed greatly.

"Sesshoumaru..." Inuyasha said, as if it was all he could think. He hadn't seen his older brother in many years--many long, lonely years. He could see the weariness in Sesshoumaru's eyes, but he doubted that it would remain for long. His bounded mate-for-life-eternal had returned to him, and that, Inuyasha knew, had made him completely and utterly happy.

"Long time no see, Inuyasha-sama," Rin greeted. It successfully distracted Inuyasha, who looked to her smiling face. He returned the smile, nodding his head.

"Yeah, it has been a long time. Right, Sesshoumaru?" he said, looking to his brother. It was then that Rin realized that her mate had never visited his brother during the time she was away. She wanted to turn and pinch him, but refrained from doing so.

"Has your woman returned?" Sesshoumaru asked, getting straight to the point. Inuyasha's face hardened, but he took an audible swallow before answering,

"My son is looking for her. Where she is, I cannot go." His reply was vague, but Sesshoumaru let it go, moving onto his next question.

"How long has he been searching?" Rin could tell that the questions obviously infuriated Inuyasha--his face was turning a little pinker. However, he didn't seem to be angry with them, but with himself.

"Three days. He promised to return by tonight, either with her or without her. If he has not brought her home, he will go again until he is successful," he explained, coming closer to the horse. Sesshoumaru made a pensive noise, looking off to the side. Then nudging the horse with his heels, he moved the animal forward.

"Let us talk where she can be more comfortable," he concluded, gesturing towards Rin. She had to admit that her back hurt since she was sitting sideways, and breathed a sigh of relief. Inuyasha gestured with his head towards the village up ahead.

"My home isn't far from here. I'll go on ahead," he conceded, looking to Rin again before sprinting down the path. Sesshoumaru watched his half-brother until he had gone around a bend in the path. He's much calmer than I remember.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" she gently asked, prodding him to share his wayward thoughts as he nudged the horse into a faster pace.

"I was thinking of how Inuyasha has changed," he admitted. She tightened her arms around him, now being jostled quite a bit.

"I don't think I saw him all that often, before I was gone."

"Yes, he and his woman rarely visited. Usually, she was the one who came to deliver our children and he would stay behind."

"How has he changed, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"When Naraku was causing so much trouble, Inuyasha was still very young. That priestess's arrow had frozen him for so long. He is full-grown now, and has become much calmer. The years have calmed him, I should say," he answered.

"You never visited him, did you?" she conjectured. He didn't answer right away, confirming her suspicion.

"I...knew it would be painful for him--and for me as well." Rin fell silent, saddened for some reason, and thought about his words. How can visiting your brother be painful? She knew that emotions were something her mate always had difficulty explaining, so she decided to drop it for the time being.

The trees were abruptly thinning, and then were suddenly gone as they reached a hilltop. Rin's jaw dropped open in shock. She had never seen such a large town. She had been to a few villages, but this was easily three times as large. The buildings were mostly built of solid wood, and the gabled roofs were made of some reddish material. Though she had always thought of their own home as being richly made, these buildings easily rivaled their own estate. The setting sun cast a glow to the rooftops, outlining the immaculately designed structures.

"Hohh...they've improved their construction techniques since I was last here."

"Amazing," Rin whispered, her eyes eagerly absorbing all of the beautiful lines and details. Sesshoumaru lifted his nose in search of his brother's scent trail and began to descend the hill. They caught the eyes of a few housewives and farmers, but most of them gave them only a few seconds of attention. They were used to having Inuyasha and his family around, so most stares were curious rather than frightened, though a few children ran to their mothers in confusion. Arriving at a well-built, one-story house near the edge of the town, Sesshoumaru stopped the horse, descending first before helping Rin down.

"It's a very beautiful home," she commented, patting the horse absent-mindedly. She didn't notice her mate's slightly annoyed expression. The home had a wraparound porch and the eaves were brightly painted, detailed with some sort of metal. Even the railings on the edge of the porch had trimming. The shoji screens were all perfectly clean, and the main posts supporting the roof had their own ornaments. She wondered if Inuyasha-sama had a garden as well.

"Welcome to my home," he said, opening the front door of the house and stepping outside. Rin automatically bowed down, returning the proper greeting. Again, she missed her mate's annoyance.

"Did you build this house, Inuyasha-sama?" she asked, watching Inuyasha approach.

"Yeah, Ka--...Kagome brought me architectural books. I never read them until she was... Anyway, Kouryoku and I spent the years while she was gone building this house. My son had to get the supplies and help me figure out what some of it meant. When this one was done, I built another for a friend. Then another and another... I was pretty bored," he admitted, his eyes sliding off to the side. Rin grimaced, clenching her teeth. Bad subject!

"I can prepare dinner if you are hungry," she offered, taking his mind off of his absent mate.

"Thanks. Sesshoumaru and I will return by the time you're done. I'm sure you can find the kitchen," he evenly replied. She was caught a little off-guard, not knowing that Sesshoumaru and he would be going somewhere. Thinking it would be best not to ask, she nodded, and retrieved a bag from the horse before excusing herself into the house.

"We'll get that horse taken care of first," Inuyasha said, leading Sesshoumaru towards the rear of the house. The two brothers were quiet, the tension obvious.

Inside, Rin knew she had to stop gasping so much. She couldn't believe the detail and craftsmanship put into the interior. The designs were simple but quite elegant and the extras were tastefully done. A little jealous, she searched for the kitchen, finding it on the right side of the back of the house.

Having unsaddled and watered the horse, Inuyasha left the animal at the back of the house; he was certain that if it were Sesshoumaru's horse, it wouldn't wander off on its own. Sesshoumaru, stoically regarding the small but beautiful garden, turned to his younger brother.

"Isn't it time that you told me this secret about Kagome?" he asked, having used her name this time to show a bit more respect. After all, her body housed the key to Rin's immortality. Inuyasha's face, which usually showed everything he was thinking, remained perfectly blank.

"She is not from this time. She came to this world from the future," he bluntly explained. Sesshoumaru's mouth fell ajar and though this exterior reaction was small, his brother's announcement was a shock for him. He had heard of many things, seen many things, but time travel...

"I had thought she would return to her world when Naraku was destroyed...when we destroyed the Shikon no Tama. It was what powered her ability to travel through the well outside of the city. We were never really certain about the rules to it. Miroku, the monk that traveled with us, had guessed that though the jewel was gone, she could go back to her time since it was where she belonged, but she wouldn't be able to return. I..." Inuyasha's jaw hardened, "I begged her not to leave, but she knew that she couldn't abandon her family without a word of warning.

The night before she was supposed to leave...I didn't know it, but she had mixed the ashes of the Shikon no Tama into her food that night and ate the entire bowl. I even remember her licking the inside ‘til all of the soup was gone. She thought it might work, but she didn't want to get my hopes up.

"In essence, she had absorbed the jewel and it still allowed for her to go back and forth. We had thought that her holy powers had enhanced, but they were the same as ever and no demons ever came to bother us." He walked over to a stone lamp sitting in the middle of the garden, staring at it. His brother remained silent, pondering this new information. According to the rumors Jaken had told him, the Shikon no Tama was sealed for many years, and then burnt with Kagome's body, but this new story made better sense. After a few more seconds, Inuyasha continued.

"We had two boys...I'm sure you know that, at least. When the younger was killed," he began, not seeing his older brother's surprised reaction, "Kagome didn't know who to blame and I tried to help her cope, but...I've never been good with words, anyway. We had no more children, and though our marriage continued as usual, I could always tell that she thought it was my fault. I suppose it was...

"Watching her grow old...unable to grow old with her...you know what that's like." Inuyasha turned then to look at Sesshoumaru, who had regained his composure. "And I know why you're here. I assume you've called your daughter to help," he guessed, waiting for his older brother's affirming nod. "Then we should wait by the well for my son, who hopefully has my wife with him. Follow me." He walked to the front of the house again, sniffing for the woman in his home as she prepared something with curry spices.

Once he took off, shooting into the woods on the east side of the house, Sesshoumaru stayed close behind. He felt an uncanny sense of communion with Inuyasha then. It was a bit disturbing to him, yet comforting at the same time. Both had children, and he couldn't imagine losing any of his four offspring. Both had human wives, and he certainly knew the pain that his brother had endured.

He now understood the change in his sibling, though. Sesshoumaru had lost a wife, but Inuyasha had lost a wife, a son, and most of his friends.

At a sudden break in the woods, an overgrown wooden well appeared before them. Someone standing next to the well looked immediately to Sesshoumaru before directing a question to Inuyasha.

"Is this...?" Shimizu asked, obviously referring to the new demon in their midst.

"Yes, my older half-brother, Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands." Sesshoumaru took a whiff of the human's scent, detecting that he was a descendant of the monk.

"Nice to meet you," he said, half-bowing at Sesshoumaru. "Inuyasha, my wife will be wondering where I am. Come by to visit once your son has returned," he requested, moving off towards the village. Inuyasha nodded, approaching the well to sit on it. Sesshoumaru eyed the man as he left, but soon it was just he and his brother there.

"Inuyasha..." Sesshoumaru began, getting his brother's attention. "I am sorry to hear about your son," he softly sympathized. Inuyasha looked at him in surprise, and the sadness that seeped into his eyes gave way to an awkward silence.

"Yeah..."

Ikkatsu scrunched her nose, feeling a dull pain on the top of her head. She was laying on a pretty hard surface, but that didn't account for the aches that throbbed in practically all of her joints and muscles. Attempting to move her head, she softly moaned, wondering why her neck felt so stiff. Her nose itched, so she tried to reach up with her hand and scratch the problem area, but her other hand came, too. Shaking her wrists to try to get them apart, she opened her eyes, looking down at her hands. A thick white cloth was wrapped around her clasped hands, tied to her wrists with a red rope that also bound her wrists together. She stared at the kanji written on the cloth. It was the same one, over and over again, but she didn't recognize it.

Staring at it confusedly, she tried to conjure up the memories that would explain this predicament.

I was with Tenrai. Headed north and an army crossed our path. Her chest suddenly hurt and her eyes moistened as she gazed at the roof of a cave.

Injured, ran away, Tenrai needs help. A vision of billowing white hair flashed in front of her mind's eye.

Dog demons saved us, but she's dead. Toku. Gasping as the memories of last night came rushing at her, she abruptly sat up, looking around. The fire was dead, her hands were bound, and she lay on a thin brown blanket. Looking at the opening to the cave, the trim, relaxed body of her captor leaned on the side of the entrance, gazing outside.

Looking down at her hands again, she remembered what he had said last night. He wants to keep me. Squinting her eyes, she prepared to conjure a flame that would burn away her bonds, but nothing came out. Blinking in surprise, she tried again.

Nothing.

She almost panicked, but realized that it must be the power-blocking rope of which he spoke. Her hands were the only outlets for her fire magic, so he had effectively subdued her.

"Are you thirsty?" a gentle voice asked. Ikkatsu gasped, looking up at the dog demon. He held a small cup in his hand, and she swallowed as she looked at it, feeling a gritty soreness in her throat. Bringing her eyes back to him, she imperceptibly nodded. He leaned down over her, setting one knee next to her hip. Touching the cup to her lips, he tipped it slightly, watching her lips take in the water. She was obviously uncomfortable with him watching her drink and he had to quell a smile. Once the cup was empty, he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip to wipe away the excess.

Her eyelashes fluttered and her gaze flicked to the side, avoiding the message in his eyes. Toku is more dangerous than him...much more dangerous.

"W-where is your brother?" she asked, trying to get his mind on something besides her.

"He is probably spying on the army that killed your sister and injured you," he explained. "Afterwards, he shall return to the northern castle, prepare our army, and await my return in two weeks." She was somewhat amazed that he was telling her so much. She had expected an answer more along the lines of, 'he's out.' It was as if he were talking to...a wife. Inwardly shaking her head at that thought, she went on to ask,

"Why two weeks?" He gave her a soft smile, curving closer to her. She felt her heartbeat pick up. What about me, she wanted to ask.

"You and I will go to my parent's house, almost a day south of here. There, we shall get to know each other," he said, emphasizing 'know.' "When my parents return from their quest, I shall introduce you as my mate, and request my father's approval to bind you to me."

Her face immediately turned beet red. Emphatically shaking her head, she pleaded with him to release her,

"I don't know you at all! How do I know if I would even like you as a mate? I-I want you to let me go!" He edged even closer, and she leaned back away from him.

"I would normally grant all of your wants and desires, but in this, I shall win. My father will easily accept you and my mother will treat you as her own daughter, I know." His eyes searched her blood red irises. His neck stretched out, bringing his mouth nearer. "And I would spend every breath in my body to make you happy," he whispered. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek and the rush of blood to her head due to his nearness. She had the strange urge to shiver, but fire demons were never chilled.

"T-then where are we going now?" she asked, now leaning sideways to gain a little distance, even if it were only a few more inches. He immediately backed off, though, stowing the small cup.

"We will prepare to leave and hopefully be home by midnight. You slept for quite a long time. I suppose I shouldn't have hit your head so hard," he lamented, turning to look at her. She looked away, blushing again. He rummaged through the sack for a bit longer, pulling out a washcloth and a soup bowl. He left the cave then, and didn't return for a couple of minutes. When he returned, he went to straight to her.

"I'm going to check your wound first, so turn this way," he directed, squatting next to her. She turned her body around, giving him access to her left thigh. He carefully removed the bandages, tossing them next to the bowl, now full of water. After wringing out the washcloth, he scrubbed away the dried blood and other remnants, ignoring her initial hiss of pain. Once he was done, she looked down and saw that only a small pucker was left. It didn't even require a new bandage.

"It's doing very well," he affirmed. Tossing out the dirtied water, he returned and packed away the supplies sitting around, and eventually had her stand so that he could fold the blanket and put it away.

"Will we be riding the phoenix demon?" she asked, following him outside.

"Yes, there he is," he pointed. The phoenix sat about twenty meters further down the ravine, huddled close to the side. Tying the bags to loops on the demon's saddle, he gave it a pet before turning to her. Scooping her up and gently settling her on the front of the saddle, he swung up behind her. Ikkatsu couldn't help herself and looked for the rock where Tenrai had turned to ash. It wasn't hard to find because it had been charred black, and in the center lay a grouping of delicate flowers.

They left her flowers...

Toku's arms came around her to find the reins, his hips pressing close to her backside. "Lifting off," he said into her ear, nudging the sides of the phoenix demon. Ikkatsu successfully fought off what had to be a shiver and leaned forward to avoid too much contact with him.

She still felt tired. Calling the black fires had wiped her out, especially since it was so much, and previously, she had done it only a couple of times, both for practice. She yawned, her eyelids were heavy despite the beautiful scenery to be seen below. There was no way to sleep, though, not without danger of sliding off the phoenix demon, which would ensure her untimely death. She could lay back upon Toku, but...

"If you want to sleep, just lean back," he suggested as if he could read her mind. In actuality, he could tell from the set of her shoulders and the slouch in her spine that she was fighting to stay awake. He also knew that she didn't want to rely on him for anything.

"I'm completely awake," she countered, her back straightening. He smirked, not saying a word, and counted the seconds until she was nodding off again. It was only five minutes later that her head first drooped. Shifting the reins to one hand, he pulled her back against his chest with a hand to her stomach, and she willingly came, setting her head on his shoulder. Laying his free arm across her lap and clasping her far elbow, he curved his back to match hers.

"Not tired...at all," she sighed.

Inutaisho, glad that his brothers weren't there to pick on him, was busily cleaning. The house had not had a thorough scrubbing since mother had died and he didn't want Yokiri to think badly of his mother if she arrived at a home that was obviously covered with dust. However, it was really an excuse to have something to do. He had found himself restless and agitated, anxiously awaiting the day when he could return for her.

Only three more days.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha ended up waiting for an hour, both completely silent. The elder brother was inwardly surprised that his sibling was so reticent, especially when before, it seemed as if he never shut up. There was no doubt, however, as to why he was now so reserved.

When a bluish light spread up to the mouth of the well, Inuyasha turned around so fast that you would have missed it if you had blinked. He glared down into the well as figures emerged from the bottom, his teeth clenched as if his stomach were upset. Sesshoumaru, standing several feet away since he was only a witness, could hear his brother's heart racing inside his chest. The scent from the first person inside the well was mostly human, though he could sense a significant amount of youki that was heavily muted.

The second person was entirely human and Sesshoumaru was tempted to smile, for the human's scent was very familiar. This should make him happy.

"Hey, dad!" someone called up, his voice surprisingly smooth. "Back up, will ya?" Inuyasha took a step back, his fists clenched. There was a short pause and then the son leapt out of the well, holding a girl in his arms. When he landed, he set the girl on her feet and took a step back. The girl looked around confusedly, her cheeks flushed with emotion and her hair a bit messy.

Kagome was dressed even more strangely than when Sesshoumaru had last seen her. Most of her shirt was opaque except for the parts that needed coverage, and the color of the opaque parts was a pattern of intriguing pink swirls. The sleeves were very baggy, especially from her elbows to her wrists. The shoulders of the shirt were gone, and all that connected the shirt to the sleeves was the cloth in the underarm area. A black leather collar around her neck was attached to the front of her shirt, keeping it from falling down. She wore a thick black leather strap around her waist, like an obi, but there was no bow in the back. The leather obi supported her breasts quite well, and Sesshoumaru could not help but imagine his own mate dressed like her.

Her pants, which rode low on her hips and extended only halfway down her thighs, were thin and black with faint sparkles, and they clung to the contours of her shapely legs. Her footwear was the strangest of all. They were boots with tall heels, and the shiny, stiff cloth that made up the shoes rose all the way to her knees. The front half of this cloth was white and the other half was black, but the cloth had holes the shapes of ovals along the outside of both calves, getting smaller as they neared her ankle.

People in the future had a strange way of dressing.

Inuyasha drank in the sight of her. Her smell was the same, her face was the same, and her body was the same. Though the clothes were foreign to him, they looked very good on her. He felt nauseous, but only because there was so much adrenaline flooding his veins at the sight of her. He had missed her so much and just seeing her was like drinking water after dying from thirst for sixteen years.

He could tell immediately that she was very frightened. Her heart was pounding madly, her eyes darted around, and her shoulders hunched upward as she curled slightly inward.

"Kouryoku, did you have to take her by force?" he asked, looking behind her to his son.

"Yeah, dad. She did not believe me, and had this taser with her--"

"A what?" Inuyasha asked, now confused.

"It's a high-voltage stun gun that you use to--never mind. No one saw me take her into the well, but the shrine monk will soon notice that the well is open again."

"We'll worry about him tomorrow, but what did you tell her?" Inuyasha looked to Kagome again, wondering what strange face paint she had applied to her eyes. Her hair seemed to be the same, but it looked like the bottom was dipped into a dark red dye. The fear in her eyes was diminishing a bit, as if her heart was recognizing him even if her mind did not. Her heart was slowing down and her body was relaxing.

"I told her that she was the reincarnated soul mate of a half-demon five-hundred years in her past, and that she had to pass through a shrine well to meet with you again. I told her the truth, thinking that it might actually work, but it turns out that I should have lied to her. She shot me with that blasted taser and it took me a day to get out of jail."

"Jail? Did those...police officers," he said, saying the word slowly, "find out anything about you?"

"I just told them I was drunk and accidentally freaked out some girl who overreacted. I had a clean record, so they bought it," Kouryoku explained.

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked, having spoken for the first time. Inuyasha's eyes closed, savoring the sound of her voice. Kouryoku, as subtly as possible, walked around to stand next to his uncle.

"I just need to touch a bare patch of skin. You'll understand then," Inuyasha calmly replied, taking a step forward. She stumbled back a step, watching his hands as if they might chop her head off.

"Can I go home after that? Will you let me go?" she said, her eyes flicking back up to his face. She couldn't step back any further, or else she would tumble back into the well, and she didn't know if the bottom would disappear this time.

"I don't know how you'll feel about me afterwards, but...I'll do anything for you," he whispered, stepping forward once more. He was within a hand's breadth of her chest, and inhaled deeply, relishing her scent. He looked into her eyes, seeing that the fear was almost gone, and brought one hand up.

When that man, Kouryoku, had taken her, Kagome had never been so scared in her life. She and her friends were planning to go shopping that afternoon, and as she left the house, he simply grabbed her from a set of overgrown bushes near the end of her block. The night before, he had accosted her at a nightclub and after she shocked him with her taser, the bouncers restrained him, though she had the feeling that he just let them have him. The police came and took him away, but she didn't press charges since her mother would kill her for going to a club.

She had thought that he was in jail, but...

When he kidnapped her, he left her purse there in the bush, so she had no access to her taser, and, seeing his inhuman speed as he carried her off, she wondered if perhaps he really was a demon, taking her somewhere for some virgin sacrifice.

Well, she was sort of close. She was surprised when he entered the gates of a shrine, and wondered what unholy rituals he wanted to perform there. Though she tried to scream for help, the man's hand never left her mouth, and he bundled her away into the well house. She had never been inside, but could tell that the lid to the well had been smashed open. She screamed into his hand as they tumbled down the well's shaft, but when she realized that they never hit the bottom, she wondered if he had actually been telling her the truth.

The half-demon who she had been told about was certainly...impressive. He was very handsome, dressed very traditionally, and looked to be a calm person. His voice and his face seemed so familiar that she wanted to believe his son's story. She watched out of the corner of her eye as his hand inched forward towards her left cheek, curving slightly to cup it. Something sizzled underneath her skin as his skin touched the velvety surface of her cheek, and her eyes clouded over as images locked within a corner of her mind were unleashed.

Sesshoumaru watched the exchange, his demonic eyes noticing the second that her pupils reduced to pinpoints. Her body began to shake, the same way that Rin's body shook when he performed the Reminding. A tear squeezed out from her eyes, pulling some of her black eye paint down her cheek. Inuyasha calmed watched her, his body ready to catch her.

"Aahh!...S-Sango? Miroku? ...N-Naraku!! K-...Kikyou. I see you, Ryoku. M-...mama sees you... Inuyasha!!! Where's our son?" Kagome choked out, most of it in a whisper, though some of it was shouted. Sesshoumaru wondered why her memories were so much stronger than Rin's, for his own mate had lived through the Reminding silently.

"No! He's not dead! Inuyasha!!" she screamed, more tears falling from her face. Sesshoumaru looked to Inuyasha, whose face was actually well composed as Kagome lived through her youngest son's death. He looked to the other son, whose jaw was tightly clenched.

"Don't cry. Don't cry. He'll see me crying," she whispered. "I don't blame you! Please don't look so guilty." This got a reaction out of Inuyasha, whose lips parted in surprise. "I'm sorry, I can't...have another child after...after..." Her mumblings became quieter after that. The last of her memories went by without a sound.

When the Reminding was finally over, her knees buckled and her eyes fell shut. Inuyasha pulled her into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Kagome," he whispered, his nose tucked against her neck. Sesshoumaru and Kouryoku waited patiently and silently as Inuyasha reunited with his mate. Though Sesshoumaru could feel the arrival of more family members to the area, he remained rooted to the spot, only regretting that he would not see Rin's face when she saw her.

Rin sat primly at the smoothly polished kitchen table, half-watching the simmering curry in a very fancy-looking pot. It had been almost two hours, and no one had yet returned. She had been hoping to at least have her mate there, but he was with his brother, waiting for Inuyasha-sama's wife, though she wasn't sure why they couldn't just go and fetch her the way Sesshoumaru had done with her. Still, the house made her feel very comfortable, and she was grateful for the chance to distract herself by cooking a meal.

However, she had finished preparing the food half an hour ago, and was now sitting there with nothing to do, half-worried about her mate and half-worried about herself. She even took a few minutes to light the candles and torches leading from the front door to the kitchen, but found herself silently contemplating the grain in the wood table.

A raised voice from the front of the house caught her ears and she perked up, rising to her feet in a rather hurried fashion. Quickly making her way to the front door, her socks sliding against the wood floor, she took a second to straighten her kimono before opening the door.

Though Jaken was also there, climbing up the steps and squawking about how he was cruelly mistreated, Rin hardly noticed him. Next to him, and much more regally stepping up onto the porch, was her youngest child, her daughter, Karran. She was a slender, graceful woman now, her silky silver hair tied neatly in a bun that sat on the nape of her neck. Her hair was decorated with small expensive hairpins, some of which dangled tiny jewels that bobbed around her forehead and pointed ears. Her smooth skin was entirely unadorned, naturally colored for beauty, and her white kimono, not what she usually wore, was painstakingly embroidered with hundreds of tiny gold beads. The gold thread beneath the beads was sewn in a pattern of delicate river flowers, and her gold obi completed the picture perfectly.

The look of happy surprise on her daughter's face was priceless, and Rin rushed forward to embrace her daughter, who was taller than her by perhaps a couple of inches.

"Mama!" she whispered, holding her tightly.

"I missed you so much!" Rin cried, returning the hug just as enthusiastically.

Jaken stood to the side, a rare smile on his face. He didn't stand there for long, though, because his nose caught the scent of dinner and he snuck inside to start eating.

Rin wasn't sure how long they stood there, but once they finally let go of each other, she smiled at her daughter, wiping a tear from Karran's cheek.

"Mother, you look so beautiful," Karran said, holding her mother's hands. Rin smiled gently at this, not knowing how motherly she looked at the moment.

"And you have become even more beautiful than I remember. How have you been?" she said, pulling her daughter inside the house. She shut the door firmly, and both walked very slowly down the hallway, elbows locked.

"I have been very well. My elements master says that I have almost completely mastered the sword that father gifted to me."

"What is it that eludes you?" Rin asked, her eyebrows upturning.

"Fire...I cannot perform all of its powers. My master is not sure why, but...I think I can guess why my mind cannot yet grasp the full meaning behind the Fire attacks," she said, looking to the floor.

"You have not experienced love?" Rin guessed, having hoped that her daughter would have found her mate by then. Karran nodded, her face passive and unreadable.

"I have made love, of course," she said, winking at Rin, who blushed in return. "But never have I been in love," she sighed, closing her eyes.

"You would mate with someone you did not love?" Rin asked, a little pouty in disappointment.

"My demonic body ached for sexual release, mother," she bluntly said. "Did you not think that father probably masturbated until you were of age for sex?"

"Karran! Please don't embarrass me," Rin shushed, getting a smile out of her daughter. It never ends! she told herself.

"Did I ever tell you that I accidentally caught Genbu one day, in the forest behind our house?" she said, her smile widening.

"Caught him doing what?" Rin asked, not catching on. Karran rolled her eyes a little.

"Mother, I went to fetch him for dinner and he was sitting on a tree root, you know?" Karran giggled, probably still amused by the memory.

"Karran! Why would I want to know that?!"

"I always hold it over him. He was so embarrassed and fell over when he heard me run up. I was only ten, so I didn't understand at the time, but now that I think about it, it was pretty funny."

"Don't remind him. It's embarrassing for anyone to be caught, I'm sure. So, no more talk about it."

"Yes, mother. Where is father?" she asked, her nose sniffing.

"He is with your uncle, waiting for Kagome-san," Rin answered, walking into the kitchen with her.

"Will they return soon?" she asked, gently sitting down on a pillow next to the table.

"I expect them any time now. Would you like some dinner?" her mother offered, gesturing towards the plates of food on the table and the pot of curry on the stove. Karran nodded, watching her mother neatly pile food onto a pretty square plate.

"Are you worried, mother? About the ceremony?" Karran asked, looking at her mother's reaction. Rin merely nodded, patting down a pile of sticky rice. Jaken, sitting in the corner of the room with his bowl of curry, looked up at them with his chopsticks halfway in his mouth. "Don't be. This ceremony will change your life for the better and it will forever eliminate the threat that the Shikon no Tama presents. I promise that you'll be fine," she declared, her hands fisting in her lap. Karran's eyes followed her serene mother as she quietly sat next to her, setting the plate on the table.

"Thank you, Karran," she said, leaning over to wrap her arm around her daughter's waist. "Now eat...or else everyone will inhale it as soon as they get back."

Inutaisho was only slightly peeved when Toku returned with Ikkatsu, who was sleeping soundly in his arms. Once Toku had her on a futon in a recently cleaned bedroom, Inutaisho met him out in the hall and practically forced the entire story out of him. Toku wanted to see to Ikkatsu first, but Inutaisho was relentless. The day was entirely spent, and the moon was quickly rising to the top of the sky, but Toku managed to explain his situation to his elder brother's satisfaction.

"Are you going to be...in the room most of the next few days then?" Inutaisho asked, a bit upset for several reasons. Not only did it mean that they would probably be doing what he had wanted to do to Yokiri for a year, but it also meant that the house would not be empty when she arrived, and he wouldn't be able to simply make love to her wherever he wanted.

"Yeah, but I promise to stay out of your way. I'll even cook," he offered, knowing that Inutaisho hated cooking.

"You always make everything too spicy," Inutaisho countered.

"Okay, so I won't add so much," Toku said, finding his brother's jealous pout to be very funny.

"All right then. When Yokiri arrives, though, I would like you to meet her...dressed formally," he added as an afterthought. Toku raised his hands in appeal, agreeing to behave. Inutaisho sighed, feeling frustrated.

"Have you eaten?" he asked, looking to his younger brother.

"Yes."

"Good, because I already ate." The eldest turned away resignedly, rolling his eyes skyward before saying, "G'night." Toku watched Inutaisho retire to his bedroom, a few doors down the hall from where Ikkatsu lay sleeping. His shoulders slumping in relief, he opened the door to the bedroom in front of him.

He finally had her alone. Though the day had been long, and though he still had many more obstacles ahead of him in the next two weeks, he had her all to himself. He was surprised to see that she was no longer where he left her. She had been sitting against the wall, her eyes closed, but when he slid open the door, she was immediately on her feet.

The sun had extinguished itself upon the horizon perhaps four hours ago, so only the light of a half-moon lit up the room. The crickets he remembered from his youth were in full chorus outside, and a steady, soft breeze played with ends of her hair.

He removed his shoes and closed the door, the slide of wood-on-wood sounding loud in the room. Coming towards her, the tatami mats muffled his footsteps, and he saw her shy away, but she was otherwise silent. He pulled her tied wrists away from her body and found the knot beneath them, working to remove it.

She spent the next minute concentrating on not noticing the feel of his hands.

"I trust you not to burn down the house," he softly commented, eventually freeing her of the unique rope. Only wanting to have her hands to herself again, she nodded in ascension. Looking up at his face, she unerringly noticed the vague threat in his eyes. What kind of threat it was, she didn't know, but she needed more space between them and walked a bit unsteadily towards the window on the far side of the room, her nervous breathing audible to his ears. He quietly removed his sword, placing it a few feet from the futon that she had laid on earlier. Looking at her again, he saw that she had turned back around, and was watching him apprehensively.

"Nervous?" he asked, and she hesitated in answering, probably not knowing his intentions. Her body rolled and shifted in anxiety.

"W-what happens now?" Ikkatsu wanted to slap herself for stuttering, but she couldn't help it. So many emotions conflicted within her and it had reduced her to a spluttering mess. She wanted to leave this place. She felt like she didn't belong and she knew what he would do to Toku if he ever learned of the dog demon's intentions towards her. Yet, she desperately wanted to stay.

Toku. She wanted him and she wouldn't deny it anymore. He was honorable, a prime example of the higher-class demons, and the way he made her feel...

But she couldn't let him into her heart and she couldn't stay there any longer.

He would kill them all.

"Now? I'm going to mate with you," he replied easily. His hands went to his waist, tugging gently to untie his hakama. Her heart went straight to her throat. She had suspected something, but not mating! "We will hold off the marking ceremony until I can officially ask my father's blessing when he returns with my mother."

A panic began to rise within her and she wasn't so sure of what she should do now...the window? She wondered how fast he was. Fire demons were fast, but she had heard that dog demons were much faster.

He couldn't make love to her. She wouldn't be able to leave him then. She shuddered as images came to her mind without her consent and backed up a step.

"I cannot. I cannot be your mate," she insisted, glad that she at least didn't stutter this time. "Please just let me go." She lifted her chin a notch, but his face darkened, making her heart sink.

"Why? Is something preventing you from staying here?" he asked, his voice rising as suspicion floated to the surface of his mind. Once again, she hesitated, thinking out the ramifications if she told Toku about him.

Toku would undoubtedly confront him and calmly stake his claim on her...and he would kill Toku. She couldn't say tell him...

Hearing her reticence on the subject, he decided to take her ambiguous statement into account...but he would make her his mate, no matter what obstacles lay in the way. With one final tug, his hakama came loose, and he let them fall to the floor. She gasped in surprise, backing up a step. He was still attired in his haori, which sagged open, but not much else clothed him, and he even rolled one shoulder to encourage his shirt to fall further open. Her cheeks blushed prettily as her gaze involuntarily flicked down to what he had bared, and she seemed frozen in place, as if she neither wanted to leave nor wanted to come any closer to him. Either way, he was willing to stand there for her inspection and avoid overwhelming her.

Ikkatsu was at a complete loss. She seriously doubted her ability to flee, even if she really wanted to flee in the first place, but something inside her wanted to stay in that room. He had bared his body to her not as if he were displaying himself, but as if he simply wanted her to see him, and some secret part of her soul was begging her mind and body to stay and see what he would do next.

Her heart was wrenching inside her chest, as if it would rip itself to pieces. With a soft sigh, she looked at his face in the pale light of evening, and then made her move.

Whipping around, she dove for the window, ready to grab the sill, plant her feet on the bottom edge, and then launch herself from the room. She felt the wind rush past her ears, her hair lifting off of her back, and saw her hands reaching for the windowsill. However, she got no further. She felt a pressure on her stomach, and then was suddenly pulled back into Toku's arms. Ikkatsu gasped, disbelieving that she was caught so soon. His nose nuzzled her ear, and his arms held her closer.

"Whatever it is, love...it has nothing to do with tonight," he whispered into her ear. She felt the solidarity of his chest against her back, and the strength in his forearms as he lifted her away from the window. Her hands gripped his wrists for support. Wanting to shout at him, she barely managed to suppress her frustration, letting her mind scream the words instead. He'll know! As soon as you mark me, he'll know!

She was stiff in his embrace, certain that he would hit her for trying to run, and she looked at the futon in the middle of the room, expecting him to walk towards it. Surprisingly, though, he walked towards the wall, letting her feet dangle in front of him. His grip on her was strong, but not too tight, and she considered his words again. He had said that he would not mark her that night--not until his parents had returned from their unexplained expedition. So if he did not mark her that night, he would be safe, and she would have another opportunity tomorrow to leave him. Ikkatsu felt like this plan was already doomed to failure, though, because he was determined to mate with her, and she doubted that she would even be the same person afterwards.

When they reached the wall, he set her back on her feet and firmly turned her around to face him. Then pushing her shoulder blades to the wall, he slid one leg between hers, pinning her. Her hands were in front of her in a defensive position, for she still was unsure of his temper. She watched his face, which actually looked calm, and waited for his next move.

His haori now hung low on his elbows, and his long mane of silvery hair spilled over both of his broad, sculpted shoulders. Her palms itched to test the feel of his hair, the texture of his skin, and the warmth of his body.

She put her hands down.

The first things that moved were his eyes. They studied her face for a bit, then the set of her shoulders, which were tense beneath his hands. He slowly squeezed, rubbing his thumbs in circles below her clavicle. His eyes traveled further down, and his voice was a bit rougher when he said,

"Don't worry..." Her shoulders relaxed a bit under his massaging hands, and she let herself take a deeper breath. 'Don't worry,' he says. I have many reasons to worry.

His hands moved down the front of her haori. Sucking in a breath upon the first intimate touch he had shared with her since the kiss in the ravine, she forced herself not to lean into his touch. His nimble fingers splayed over her breasts, which were bound tightly.

Ikkatsu sucked in a needed breath of air, her heartbeat out of control. Feeling something jabbing her hip, she looked down and saw something long extending from his body, but it was hidden mostly by nighttime shadows. She was confused for a bit, wondering if what she had seen earlier had somehow morphed into something else, but his hands were too distracting and she leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

His hands caressed her sides as they moved down, molding over her hips. He leaned forward, nuzzling the bend in her neck, and dropped small kisses along the demonic markings visible at the top of her collar. Her mouth fell open, jaw muscles clenching, wondering how Toku could make her feel this much so quickly when before...with him...every touch forced upon her made her stomach turn.

She felt a sharp tug at her stomach and realized that he had pulled apart the knotted belt of her hakama, unmaking it before she could resist. Gasping as her hakama drooped dangerously low, she reached to pull them back on, but they slipped through her fingers, slipping past his knee and pooling on the floor around her ankles.

"Toku," she sighed, feeling his hands on her bare hips. Her haori hung open, making it easier for him to suckle the skin along her collarbone. She felt one of his hands grip the back of her left thigh and move it outward to widen her stance. Then both hands smoothed their way upward, and he leaned back from her to work at the knot on the bindings that kept her breasts hidden from him. He made short work of it, flicking the two free ends aside. Pulling and tugging, his hands quickly unbound her chest, freeing the soft, spongy mounds of flesh. The bindings fell to the floor as well, joining her hakama. Ikkatsu took a deep breath, her chest pushing into his palms. She forced her hands to stay flat against the wall, determined to get through the night without participating--it would be the only way she could leave him in the morning.

Though one of his hands remained to thumb the pink tip to her breast, his other caressed her side again, squeezing and massaging as it went, testing the pliancy of her skin and muscle. She turned her head away when he wanted to taste her lips, but his hand gently brought her face back, and his mouth hovered above hers.

"Kiss me...please," he whispered, his breath spilling over her lips. She inwardly grimaced with pain, having never heard anything said so sweetly. With him, every kiss was stolen from her, rudely and roughly taken. She swore that her heart twisted inside her chest, and it was painful to turn her head away again. She could practically hear all of his muscles freeze, and she knew she had hurt him.

His knee came away from between her thighs, and she half-thought that he was going to stop, but his hand quickly swept inside, cupping her. She gasped loudly, having never been touched there before--not even by him. He had done much, most of it against her will, but he had never ventured this far, which would chance the wrath of her family. For the first time in her life, she shivered.

"N-no," she unevenly whispered. He pressed a finger between the outer lips, and his other hand pressed her shoulder against the wall, ensuring that she wouldn't be moving too far anytime soon. Ikkatsu bit lightly on her lower lip, her breathing erratic and fast. She heard him shakily let out a breath,

"You're so warm." The pad of his finger did a quick search, finding something he had been seeking. Pushing and rolling a spot, he listened as she cried out, her entire body stiffening. She was feeling a new warmth building up inside and though it was only a tiny trickle for now, she knew it was something she had never felt before.

His finger continued to manipulate her and she couldn't control the little convulsions and clenches of her stomach muscles. The movements varied, from quick rubs to gentle, slow circles, and eventually the pleasure reached a plateau. She clenched her jaw, trying to fight the instincts screaming at her.

"Don't worry," he grunted, his own body screaming at him as well. "Whatever it is, I'll take care of it," he promised, his voice raspy in her ear. She fought the urge to capitulate but little noises escaped her throat. She wanted to trust him and felt like she betrayed her brother by wanting to do so, but she could not deny what her body's natural impulses said---he shall complete me.

Her body jerked, a cry escaping her throat. She lifted her left leg, bending it and hooking it around his hip. Her head turned towards his, and as her arms slinked around his neck, clutching his shoulders, her lips opened for him, accepting his kiss.

She knew immediately that she had done the right thing. The first real kiss they shared was sensual--demanding but not forceful. The mild warmth that she had felt earlier was intensifying, melting her from the inside. His hand sped up, and she gasped into his mouth, feeling the pleasure reach a higher plateau.

"Toku," she achingly sighed against his lips. Her fingers dug further into his shoulders, pulling her tighter against him. He shuddered against her, very relieved and very aroused.

"Hang onto me," he gasped into her mouth. His hands slid behind her back, gripping her hind end and lifting her. Swinging towards the middle of the room, he held her close as he brought them to the futon, and slowly sunk down. He set her down gently, one arm behind her shoulders as he leaned her down 'til her head met the mattress.

Ikkatsu had never felt this alive. Her heart was pounding furiously, and her body ached to have something from him. His hips were lodged firmly between her thighs, and something now rested against the area that throbbed with heat, so she began to get a general idea of what was going to happen. Just imagining it made her breath catch and she wanted to claw the sheets with her impatience.

A wet mouth landed on her collarbone. His weight lifted off her. He raised his head, leaning back, and pulled her arms from around his shoulders, placing her hands on the futon. Now sitting upon his heels between her knees, his eyes studied her body, and Ikkatsu watched him in confusion.

"W-what are you looking at?" she asked quietly, tempted to cover herself.

"Everything," he answered.

"I..." she began, wanting to ask him to stop looking at her. She couldn't get it out, though, too stimulated from watching his steady gaze travel over her bare skin. She stifled a gasp when he leaned forward again. He braced one hand next to her, and the other touched the base of her neck where her demonic markings began. His fingers feathered their way down her body, pausing to flick at her nipples and sweep along the clean line of her sternum. Then rubbing the smooth skin over the flat of her belly, he looked her over again, fascinated by the look and feel of her body.

Her skin was an alabaster pink, smooth and soft. Her markings were soft red flames that licked up her body like an attentive lover. They traveled from her outer mid-thigh, over her hips, flicking out over her abdomen, and then disappeared behind her back. The top edges fanned over her shoulders and ended at her neck, completing the picture perfectly. She moved her legs slightly, bringing him back to reality, and he leaned back again, gripping her hips. She took a deep breath, watching him lustfully.

The scent of her had almost a drug-like effect: the more he had of it, the more he wanted. His palms rubbed down her thighs, circling around her knees and traveling back up. Sweeping over her hipbones, his hands dipped low on her abdomen, heavily petting the more forbidden area. Ikkatsu was panting at this point, her back arching off of the futon. He watched her hands grip the soft sheet beneath her, and he suddenly needed to feel those hands on his own skin.

Reaching for her left hand, he grasped her wrist in his fingers, and her eyes blinked open, looking at him.

"Touch me. I need you to touch me," he roughly whispered, bringing her hand down to where his member jutted out. She hesitantly curled her fingers around him and he groaned, his head rolling back over his shoulders. Sitting up carefully, Ikkatsu tightened her hold slightly, watching his reaction with fascination.

"This...this feels good?" she asked, simply holding him.

"Yeah, but can you...just gently pull...let it slide through your fist and then...aaahhh!!!" he growled, his flesh swelling even more. It felt so good in her hot little hands that he could no longer speak and he had to show her what to do. She was so intrigued by his reaction that she quite willingly masturbated him. In only a manner of minutes, he was gasping for breath and perspiring until little drops of sweat rolled down the line of his back.

"S-stop," he choked out, stilling her hand. He was coming dangerously close to losing it and coming in her hand. His eyes slid open, and he looked at her anxious face. Taking a deep breath, he could tell that she was even more aroused now than before.

"Now," he grumbled, pushing her back. When his weight settled over her once more, Ikkatsu felt that hot trickle of sensation seep down her body again. His mouth met hers and his hand smoothed the hair from her forehead. Her chest tightened and she wondered what this wonderful, poignant feeling was inside her heart. It made her want to cry, but it also made her skin tingle as if it itched. There was a strange restlessness in her blood and a pounding in her veins.

She could no longer stay quiet.

"Please, Toku!" she desperately whispered, pulling her lips away. Her thighs squeezed his hips, and her hands pulled on his shoulders. "Take me," she sighed, embarrassed to admit it, but desperate for whatever it was that his body was promising to give to her. His lips quieted her, his tongue delving deep inside her mouth. She felt his body shift and a blunt object probed where his hands had ventured earleir. Her assumptions confirmed, Ikkatsu groaned against her lover's lips, anticipating what it would feel like.

Toku wanted to shout in exultation--her body was incredibly warm, warmer than his previous lovers. He knew it had to be because she was a fire demon and thanked the gods for sending her to him. He pressed forward, sinking deeper into the wonderful heat.

"Mmmmff! T-Toku!" she gasped, widening her thighs. She didn't know such pleasure could be created between two people. The crux of her thighs was wet from it. The solid, slick feel of what had to be part of him entering part of her... I didn't know!

She felt his arm slip beneath her thigh, settling her knee at the crook of his elbow. He pulled his arm forward, bringing her knee closer to her shoulder, and solidly bucked his hips, driving the last of his throbbing member into her. She gasped, her inner muscles squeezing tightly. It was such an incredible full feeling. Toku groaned into her shoulder, only hoping that he could hold out long enough.

It was overwhelming and she loved it. She loved this incredibly intimate act, how his body pressed hers into the futon and how he attacked her senses from every side.

His hips began slowly, rolling subtly and smoothly. Her body rocked gently beneath him, and her little moans and sighs were twisting his gut with urgency, but he kept it slow. Her arms were clenched tightly around his chest, and he felt her other leg come to rest on his lower back. Hearing a catch in her breathing, he sped up slightly, gritting his teeth at the floor.

"Uhhnnn, Toku," she sighed into his ear. After all the resisting she had done with him, Ikkatsu wondered what had made Toku different. Hissing as he rolled his hips into her, she let out a shaky cry.

Toku didn't make her feel dirty. She felt genuine affection from him, and he seemed to know exactly how to make her blood boil. She wondered what he would say if he saw her now. With her legs wrapped around the driving hips of her lover, huffing and moaning beneath him as Toku gave her real pleasure...

"Tighten around me, Ikkatsu," he whispered to her, breaking her train of thought. She wasn't quite sure what he meant, and held him closer with her arms. "The part of me that's inside you...try to do it in time with me," he attempted to explain. She bit down on her lower lip, contracting the right muscles as he drove into her. He growled in her ear and she wondered if she had done something wrong.

"I--" she began, relaxing her muscles again. It was a few more thrusts before he said anything more.

"T-that was it...uhhhh, so hot," he gruffly remarked, suckling her neck. She breathed a sigh of relief, clenching her inner muscles as he once again hit a spot deep within her. He groaned against her neck, hitting his hips against her. Ikkatsu felt a surge of power, hearing his adamant approval. The churning inside intensified, like a twisting, burgeoning heat that grew with every thrust.

She felt his lips against her cheek and opened her eyes as he lifted his head, which brought his face above hers. His eyes stared at her, watching her as he pumped his turgid length in and out of her. Although the eye contact took her breath away and made her thighs shake, she felt embarrassed as he watched her and let her eyes flutter shut.

"Don't. Don't close your eyes," he huskily said, landing another kiss on her chin. "Look at me." A small shudder of pleasure fanned outward from where he joined with her, forcing a quivering sigh out of her. Opening her eyes again, she found his golden irises and held his gaze. As his body continued to move over her, bringing her closer to some indescribable goal, she watched him, watching her.

"Toku," she softly sighed, her back stiffening. "Mmff...you feel so good!" she cried out, her eyes squinting as moisture gathered over her eyes. She felt a pressure rolling around inside her stomach, tightening the cords of pleasure that tangled together at the top of her thighs.

"That's it...uhhhh...that's it," he uttered, speeding up his thrusts.

"Y-yes...yes," she groaned. She was gasping for air, needing to scream in her frustration. She could feel everything acutely, hear everything with perfect clarity, and see everything clearly... The gasps and groans of her lover, the light rustling of the sheets beneath them, and the devastating attraction of Toku's charm, face, and body.

"Unh! A-aah! T-Toku!!!" she croaked out, her voice cracking. Muscles that she didn't even know existed began to convulse and shudder, sending out wet waves of love and warmth. Everything was silent for a few seconds, and when the world began to move again, her head was swimming, and the throbs between her legs felt so good. Through watery, half-open eyes, she watched his own ecstasy pass over his face.

"I-Ikka..." he choked out. He shut his eyes, harshly gasping as his body's elixir shot into the hot, clenching smoothness. Her back was arched and rigid, jerking as each jolt of bliss discharged throughout her lower abdomen.

I...didn't know. Oh, Toku, I didn't know.

He unhooked her leg from his arm and sank onto her, sharing a final, lingering kiss before tucking his nose to the bend in her neck. A relatively long time had passed since his last lover, a cat demon many years his senior. He had thought she was his true mate, despite his father's rather uncommonly vehement protests, and when he asked her to perform the marking ceremony, she laughed in his face. He was only twenty then--his mother was still alive and healthy, though much older than she appeared now. His brothers all wanted to seek fame and glory, and his sister was still learning the basics from his father. He met Kotoko while traveling east. She was already more than a hundred years old. She could best him at swordplay, and knew so much more than he did. He was hot-blooded and thinking back now, Toku supposed that was the only attraction she felt. They had made love, and he had learned a lot from her.

He had thought to prove himself to her by returning with a kingdom and a renewed proposal of marriage, but as he struggled with Genbu to raise an army and defeat the northern kingdom, Toku realized that she didn't love him and never would. The day his mother died, his father, the most powerful demon in probably all of the four kingdoms, silently wept. None in the hallway could hear it, but they could smell the salty tears. His mother had no kingdom, no powers to boast, and yet his father had married her--because he loved her.

He didn't know what would happen with Ikkatsu, but he hoped...

"Toku?" she softly called, turning her head towards his. Her cheek touched his own, and her arms held him a little tighter. He felt her legs move off of his back, and realized that his haori was still hanging from his elbows.

"What?" he answered just as softly. He heard a tiny sound from her throat, as if she were hesitating. "What do you want to say?" he asked, a little louder.

"I...I wanted to ask if I could wait until morning...to tell you," she said, a little vague. He wondered for a moment what she meant. Then--

"You mean, the obstacle? You'll tell me in the morning?" he asked, his heart lightening already.

"Yes," was her simply reply. Toku wanted to shout for joy. She would become his mate and trust in him to help her with this mysterious past that she feared.

"T-...T-Toku?" she gasped, feeling him swell inside her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he rasped out, kissing the lobe of her ear. "Everything is functioning normally."

"Then..." she prompted, needing an explanation.

"Again." With that, he began to move within her, starting off slow. Ikkatsu gasped and then softly moaned, bringing her legs around him again. Let's hope he fights as well as he makes love...