Panty Thief by Avadrea

The Claiming of the Panties

Disclaimer:  I don’t own InuYahsha or its characters.  They belong to their creator Rumiko Takahashi.  Enjoy my insanity it isn’t worth anything more than that.

A/N: Written for ROo's 3rd GM Challenge 2010.  Recently updated after being betaed.  Thanks to my lovely beta Cresent Dreams.

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To anyone watching he would have appeared to be completely at ease. He leaned almost lazily against a tree, his golden eyes half lidded, his body relaxed, he even appeared to be in a partial doze. It was after all a nice warm day and the rest of his makeshift pack were just as lethargic. Bee’s hummed in the floral scented air as if donning lazily lullabies to the resting group. It was an afternoon made for napping, however Sesshoumaru was anything but asleep.

Despite all evidence to the contrary Sesshoumaru was very much alert. His every sense was honed in on the source of his most recent bout of curiosity. He could practically feel his hackles rise in indignation at the stubbornness of his advisory. For weeks he had attempted to plunder its secrets and yet it had refused to surrender its treasures to him. But no more, today he would be the victor. His most recent plan of attack was perfect. All he had to do now was be patient and his victory would be delivered to him without any other soul being the wiser.

Having arranged himself beside his advisory, all he had to do now was wait for his unknowing ally to move into position. He did not have to wait long, thanks to the unyielding loyalty of his servant it was only a few mere minutes before the little kappa sidled up to him croaking out words of praise.

“Is there any way that this humble servant may be of use to you My Lord?” Sesshoumaru suppressed a smirk at the unaware retainer’s choice in words. Oh there was indeed a very specific use he had in mind for him.

“Jaken.”

The kappa shifted nervously from one foot to the other. It was obvious in his stance that he realized that something unpleasant was about to befall him. “Yes My Lord?”

His boot connected with the side of the toady’s head with a practiced ease sending him flying with prefect trajectory right into the large yellow satchel that had been left unguarded against a tree. The sudden impact toppled the pack, sending its contents spilling across the ground before him like a sacred offering. Sesshoumaru was pleased.

Lazily he allowed his eyes to wander over the banquet of oddities spread out before him effectively hiding his delight at his success. There were so many wonderfully fascinating things about the miko and as of yet he had been denied the chance to peruse the contents of her wondrous bag. Now, with the females of the pack off bathing, he would have ample time to sate some of his curiosity.

Trying to be helpful the monk moved forward in an attempt to clean up the “mess” that Sesshoumaru and his servant had “inadvertently” caused in their recent scuffle. But he was quickly warned off by a sudden spike in the inu’s youki. A soft growl followed sending him scuttling back in surprise. “I will… be sure to tidy things up later Sesshoumaru-sama.” He bowed politely and hurried to make himself scarce.

Smirking slightly to himself at the submissiveness of the human, he returned his attention to his prize. He would not have much longer before the women returned; it would be in his interests to allow the monk to repair the damage he had done. It would help to keep the miko from discovering his trespass. His keen gaze sifted through the unrecognizable items, until finally they came to rest with on a simple scrap of pink. His golden eyes became alight with keen interest. Now what was that?

With a carefully crafted expression of boredom Sesshourmaru reached out to retrieve the small bit of fabric lifting it up between his claws for inspection. Tilting his head, he rubbed the material between his thumb and forefinger testing the soft finely woven threads.

A small gasp from across the clearing broke in on his investigation causing his golden eyes to slant away from the curiosity in his hands. His brother stood at the edge of the forest with his jaw hanging open in a comical look of horrified surprise. Slowly the firewood he had gathered fell from his arms, tumbling to the ground as the hanyou went pale. What an interesting reaction to such a small scrap of fabric.

Watching his brother’s growing shock with interest Sesshoumaru casually lifted the delicate object to his nose exploring it with his most acute of senses. Instantly his entire awareness was flooded with the rich sweet scent of the miko. The heady aroma was warm and inviting with a touch of a rich, spicy musk he had never savored before from her person. The scent clung so thickly to the fabric that it must have been kept close to her skin which meant that the small delicate item had to be a garment of some kind.

Sesshoumaru stretched the unknown piece of clothing between his hands, his brow furrowing slightly as he inspected it. It was so oddly shaped with three hemmed holes and yet was made of such a small amount of fabric it seemed unlikely that it could serve much of a purpose. Even so, a lot of craftsmanship had gone into its creation. The soft fabric had been dyed a pale pink, the stitching in the seams was very fine and perfectly spaced, and there was even a very tiny bow sewn to its very center.

Flicking the little bow with his claws Sesshoumaru frowned. Perhaps it was some form of odd hat, yet he was sure if he had seen the miko wearing such on her head he would have noticed. No, he had never seen the female wear this garment and yet scent did not lie. She had worn it, and recently.

“Sesshoumaru,” Inuyasha’s hissed whisper intruded once more. “If Kagome catches you with… with… THAT… we’re all dead.” The daiyoukai leveled his gaze upon his pleading sibling, raising a single brow as he lifted the soft fabric to his nose again taking a deep breath of the savory smell.

“Oh hell! Cut that out!” The hanyou’s cheeked flushed a deep red at the display. “You can’t just go around sniffing a girl’s panties! It just ain’t done!”

Panties? So that was what the odd garment was called. Slowly tracing his tongue along the smooth fabric Sesshoumaru sampled the source of the scent almost failing to repress the growl of approval that wanted to vibrate in his chest. The flavor was delectable.

“Awww HELL! You’re one sick fucker, you know that!?” Throwing his hands up in the air, Inuyasha turned quickly and stormed, off his face having gone from brilliant red to deathly pale in a matter of seconds.

Smirking to himself Sesshoumaru, tucked his prize safely away in the front of his haori. He would not be giving it up anytime soon, not when such a delightful essence clung to it. Now all that was left was to figure out what ‘panties’ were.