The Blue Bikini by DreamCatcher121

The Blue Bikini

A/N: So this is my first post on Dokuga. I took a beach vacation a little while ago and I just thought of this... It was originally intended as a oneshot, but I think I want to do more. Anyways here it goes!

Disclaimer: If I were Rumiko Takahashi, let's just say Sesshomaru would spend a lot more of his time shirtless. Lucky for him (and not so much for us), I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Beaches, Bastards, Bikinis, Oh My!

~Sesshomaru's POV~

        He hated the beach. The potent brine of the sea assaulted his delicate sense of smell and the miniscule grains of sand always seemed to find their way into his long hair. Under normal circumstances, he would never think to go to such a place, but Rin had wanted to. It was her birthday today; Or rather, the anniversary of the day he had revived her with Tenseiga. The child followed him unflinchingly and rarely asked for anything so as not to burden him. To that effect he had decided to grant her one wish. As he watched the waves crash at the shore before retreating again and sending their strong scent across the beach, he could not help but regret his decision a bit. However, as he looked at the girl chasing seagulls and laughing merrily, he decided to quell his personal feelings for the time being.

        He was getting uncomfortably warm in his armor and kimono, so he decided to take both off; though he kept his hakama and still held his swords at his side. He figured that there was nothing around that was powerful enough to require his armor. He retired to the shade of a tree where the sand met the forest floor. There he watched his ward continue to chase the seagulls as his vassal, Jaken, shouted his displeasure to deaf ears. Two hours of swimming and chasing followed and things had started to calm down somewhat. He continued his silent vigil as Rin attempted to make a sand replication of his castle in the western lands. All of a sudden the steady breeze carried a series of unpleasant smells; the most unpleasant being the scent of his half-brother. He also noted the scents of the miko, slayer, kit, and monk that always seemed to travel with the half-breed. 'Wonderful,' he thought with deep resentment, 'there goes one the few moments of peace that are so rare for this Sesshomaru.' The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Outwardly of course he showed none of these emotions. Not wanting to ruin Rin's day, he decided to let things play out as it were.

        Minutes later, the hanyou's traveling party came within sight as they walked along the stretch of beach. Inuyasha was dressed in his usual bright red clothing, but the monk, the slayer, and the miko were all in odd garments he had never seen before. The monk was dressed in short pants that cut off just past his knees and something similar to those strange tops the girl often wore; it had short sleeves and looked to be made of cotton. The slayer wore a simple tunic dress that covered the outline of a peculiar one piece undergarment. The miko was clad in a similar dress to the slayer, but did not have the same odd outline. He watched silently; the inu in him curious as to why they were dressed in such a manner. Once the group arrived at the shore, he masked his scent and aura. Rin and Jaken were asleep, so he left them alone in favor of seeing what would occur next.

        His eyes widened marginally, which for him meant complete and utter shock. They were taking off their clothes! All of them except for his half-brother, that is. The monk removed the short sleeved top and the girls pulled their dresses over their heads. The strange outline from underneath the slayers dress appeared to be some sort of one piece underclothing. However, when his eyes slid over to the miko he nearly choked. She was barely wearing anything! The triangular pieces of cloth held together precariously with bits of string left nothing to the imagination. He had lain with women before, so the mere sight of her should not have been enough to faze him. In fact, he should have been disgusted by her lack of modesty. Yet, as he beheld the smooth curves of her body, he found himself entranced. The pieces of cloth she wore were a wicked torment; they showed just enough to entice him, and withheld just enough to make it unbearable. He could not withhold his beast's desire to rip apart those strings and see the treasures hidden from him.

        Things only got worse when she entered the water. She and the slayer were splashing water at each other playfully, which caused the miko's breasts to bounce in the most delectable way. He could not believe he was feeling something akin to desire for the insignificant ningen onna. He continued to fight a losing battle with his beast in the hopes that this useless feeling would depart quickly. He knew it was a fruitless task when he watched the water drip down her body, leaving glistening trails behind. He wanted the miko.

~Kagome's POV~

(Returning to before they arrived at the beach)

        Kagome was absolutely giddy with excitement! She had FINALLY convinced Inuyasha to give them a short break. They were going to go to the beach, so she went home to get some supplies. She brought a pair of her dads swim trunks and a t-shirt for Miroku. She had so many cute little bikinis that she wanted to take for her and Sango, but she also brought a one piece suit, keeping in mind the modesty of the feudal era. As expected, when she had shown the demon slayer the different bikinis, the woman paled. Miroku, upon seeing the bikinis, was sorely disappointed that he wouldn't get to see Sango's curves. When he said as much, he earned himself a red palm print painted on his cheek. When everyone but Inuyasha, who had "keh'd" when asked if he would like a pair of trunks as well, was changed, they all headed for the beach.

        Inuyasha grumbled the whole way about the trip and how we "Shouldn't be wasting our time at the damn beach, when that bastard Naraku is still running around!" Kagome finally lost patience and sat him into a nice, Inuyasha-sized crater. After that he calmed down a bit, but he still didn't hesitate to voice his displeasure when the opportunity arose. As they neared the beach, Kagome got excited. The water looked beautiful; free as it was from modern day pollution. The steady breeze picked up a little, carrying with it the smells of the sand and sea. It relaxed her. There was something about the way the waves rolled into the shore, and the tiny grains of sand gave way beneath your feet. With the feeling of the sun on her face, she smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks. It was simply wonderful!

        When they finally arrived at the shore, they started to take off everything but their swimsuits. Miroku looked good in the trunks, and the one piece hugged Sango's curves every bit as much as the tight body suit she always wore. Miroku sprung a nose bleed as he ogled her, which earned him another decisive slap across the face; though she would never admit it, the slayer was secretly pleased at the attention he paid her. However, when she revealed her suit, even Inuyasha's eyes widened considerably and his mouth was slack as he took in what she was wearing; or rather what she wasn't wearing. She had chosen a midnight blue bikini that seemed to bring out the darker blue in her eyes, while at the same time calling attention to the curves she had. 'I bet Kikyo doesn't own anything like this' she thought snidely. Lately Inuyasha seemed to never waste an opportunity to tell her all the ways Kikyo was better than her. It had caused her to have a slight inferiority complex about herself. She knew that most men would prefer Kikyo's willowy petite form to her more developed chest and wide hips. The fact that she still had a small waist did not comfort her when she was having these thoughts; it simply caused her more worry about her odd body proportions.

        When she put on this particular bikini, however, she felt a confidence she had not known in quite a while. She enjoyed watching Inuyasha flounder for the words to speak. Not allowing him the chance to break her recently re-discovered confidence, she turned away from him and led Sango to the surf. She almost laughed at the confused expression her friend was making as she was pulled into the water. Confusion turned to shock as kagome sent a handful of water at the slayer. However, shock quickly changed to mirth as the woman caught onto Kagome's game. They spent the next ten minutes in all out splash warfare. Finally they both fell down in the surf, laughing and catching their breath. In the midst of their quest to defeat Naraku and gather the jewel shards, they had forgotten how to be normal people who laughed and had fun. Kagome had wanted this trip in order to help them remind themselves that they could still have a good time.

        As she stood back up and helped Sango to her feet, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. She spread out her aura to see if anyone besides their group was near. Sensing nothing, she put the feeling aside as paranoia. They continued to laugh and play as the day wore on. She had just finished helping Shippou build a sand castle, when the feeling of eyes on her came back with force. She glanced around, and that is when an overly energetic Rin bowled into her with an excited squeal. "Kagome-sama! Rin did not know you were here, or Rin would have come to play sooner!" she said happily. Kagome was surprised to say the least. "Riiiiin! I've told you not to run off! It is an inconvenience to Sesshomaru-sama!" a voice squawked. There was only one creature that could squawk like that, and that was Sesshomaru's retainer Jaken. She groaned internally. While she adored Rin, she had a hard time feeling happy in her adoptive father's presence.

        Sure enough, Jaken came into view, still shouting at Rin, with Sesshomaru walking a little ways behind. That was when she got a good look at Sesshomaru. Her jaw fell open and she made an audible snort of disbelief. He was not wearing his usual full war regalia. In fact, he was not wearing anything but his hakama, and loosely at that. He was a stunning specimen of male if she did say so herself. He was not scrawny, but neither was he bulky with overdeveloped muscles. He was lean with toned biceps, triceps, and every other "-eps" there were. As he walked she could see the subtle ripple of his perfectly chiseled abdomen. She also noted the sinful "v" of his hip bones and the delicious way the hakama were hanging off of them. Magenta stripes that matched the ones on his cheek also ran along his delicate wrists and wrapped around his narrow waist. 'I wonder where else he has them' she wondered idly. 'KAMI, DID I JUST THINK THAT?!' she mentally screamed. 'Bad Kagome! He's not that hot… hell, who am I kidding, he's gorgeous' she sighed as she inwardly admitted defeat to herself. After she stopped drooling at him in her mind, she began to wonder why he was here and why she didn't sense such a powerful aura earlier. That was when she noticed that Inuyasha had Tetsusaiga drawn and was growling steadily. Apparently he was just as upset that he didn't sense his brother on the beach sooner.

        "Inuyasha, let's see what he wants first" she said in a reasonable voice.

"The hell would we do that for? This bastard's always causing trouble for us" he said, with resentment deep in his tone.

"Inuyasha…" she began, the warning clear in her voice. "Keh" he scoffed, but he lowered Tetsusaiga.

"This Sesshomaru does believe that the only bastard here is you, half-breed" his brother said snidely as he approached the group.

"Just shut the hell up, asshole" Inuyasha replied lamely.

Rin chose that moment to let out an excited shriek. Everyone present turned to see what was going on and what they saw was equal parts cute and strange. Shippou had transformed into a giant pink balloon and was bouncing Rin up and down as she giggled and squealed in delight. Realizing the attention that they were receiving, Shippou quickly transformed back into his normal self and placed Rin on the ground with a deep red blush. 'Hmmm… I'll have to ask him if he has a crush on her later' Kagome thought to herself. "Anyways, why are you here Sesshomaru? You don't really seem like the fun in the sun type" she said, turning back to the shirtless god while trying to keep the drool in her mouth and the lust off her face.

~Sesshomaru's POV~

        beast preened at the way the object of his attentions was looking at him. Though she was trying desperately to hide it, he could see desire in her clear blue eyes and he noted the telltale shift in her scent that further indicated her arousal. Now that he noticed it, her scent was not like most ningens. Ningens either smelled of filth or a potent combination of oils and perfumes. It was nauseating to say the least. However, she smelled clean; she smelled of Sakura blossoms and a soft spring wind. It was a pleasant scent and he couldn't help but wonder what it would smell like if it was mixed with his own scent. He put aside those thoughts in favor of taking in the heady scent of her arousal. When she became like this, it added a note of citrus to the sakura blossom and wind combination. While the majority of his mind was occupied by male pride, the lesser part recognized that she had asked a question and formulated a response. "It is Rin's birthday and she wished to go to this place" he said as he turned to look at his ward as she begged the fox kit to turn into a balloon and play with her again. As he faced her again, he noticed the faint look of surprise that flickered across her features. Whatever answer she had expected from him, this clearly was not it. She did not respond verbally to his statement, however, she simply continued to look at his face as if searching for something. He arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow as he waited for her to say something.

        It was then that she seemed to realize that she had been staring at him for the past few minutes. A rush of heat rose to her head as blood pooled beneath her cheeks and the most sumptuous blush crept across her face. He nearly growled as he imagined what else he could do to make her blush like that. His imagination really got out of hand when she began to chew on her soft bottom lip nervously with those dull ningen teeth. Oh, what he wanted to do with that perfectly luscious mouth; what he would give to hear his name being cried out from those lips as he gave her pleasure. As these thoughts passed through his mind, he fought desperately for control of his features. He was Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, and a Daiyoukai. He would not allow his perfect self control to be broken down by this little miko, no matter how desirable she was. "W-well that's n-nice" she managed to stammer out, with that cute little blush still painted across her cheeks. He allowed a smirk to settle on his lips as she fidgeted under his stare. "What the fuck are you two doing?" Inuyasha suddenly interrupted. 'Hmm… I had forgotten of the half-breed's presence' he thought, 'This miko is quite dangerous.' The fact that he, who was aware of everything always, had forgotten to be on his guard around his half-brother in favor of fantasizing about the girl proved as much.

~Kagome's POV~

        'KAMI! I totally forgot that everybody was here' she thought frantically. 'THAT'S because you were too busy gawking at Sesshomaru to notice' she reprimanded herself.

"W-what are you talking about Inuyasha?" she got out between her thoughts.

"I'm talkin' about the way you guys have been fuckin' droolin' all over each other sinc-" Inuyasha began.

He never did finish that sentence, because as soon as he had gotten that much out Kagome had screeched, "SIT! SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

with a face redder than anyone present thought a human was capable of. Inuyasha was now at the bottom of a very deep hole that she had created, using his face. Soon she forgot about him though, because she then heard the most captivating sound she had ever heard. His voice was rich and deep, like melted chocolate or the amber of his eyes. He was laughing. Sesshomaru the ice prince was actually laughing. She felt like she could listen to the musical timbre of his laugh forever, but when he himself realized the attention he was receiving, his face closed off and his emotionless mask was in place once again. She was not the only one staring at him in shock. As soon as he had made the sound, he had the attention of everyone (with the exception of Inuyasha, who was still on the ground).

Miroku broke the silence first saying, "Did what I think just happened, really happen?"

Sango nodded slowly, and if her jaw had dropped any further, it would surely hit the floor. Kagome herself was still trying to remember how her brain worked.

"So the Daiyoukai of the West can laugh too. Who knew, eh?" Miroku continued, getting over his shock and chuckling with a grin on his face.

"Rin has never heard Sesshomaru-sama laugh before. This is the best birthday ever!" Rin said with a huge toothy smile.

        The day wore on with much playing, laughing, and yes, even a little flirting until the last rays of sun dipped below the horizon in a brief explosion of amber and gold. The two groups decided to camp on the beach together. This was met with many protests from a certain hanyou and toad demon, but at the pleading of Rin and Shippou, both traveling parties set up camp. After a fire was lit and the sleeping arrangements were made, they all settled down for the night. Shippou curled up in her lap as he usually did, but this time Rin was with him. She usually sang Shippou to sleep before putting him to bed. This was because when they found him, he had lost his parents and often had nightmares about it. The nightmares were gone now, but it was still a habit for her to sing to him.

"Kagome is the best singer in the whoooole world!" Shippou whispered excitedly to Rin.

This of course caused Rin to look at her with huge awed eyes as she waited for kagome to begin. All of a sudden she was nervous. What if she didn't live up to the little girl's expectations? Then she looked at Shippou, who smiled at her so sweetly that she was reminded of why she had started doing it in the first place. Situating them so that they were both lying with their heads in her lap, she began to sing in a sweet and clear voice:

Fate has been cruel,

And the world unkind,

But fret not dear child tonight,

For fate also brought,

You next to me,

In a world full of silver moonlight,

Through any darkness,

I'll sing you a song,

So rest dear child safe in my keep,

Till your tired eyes,

And my lullabies,

Have carried you softly to sleep,

And may my song,

Bring you sweet dreams,

As you sleep dear child this night,

But should you have fear,

Know when you awake,

I'll be there holding you tight.

She ended her song and looked at the two sleeping faces before her. Carefully, she moved them off of her lap and onto their beds. After giving each a kiss above their brow, she finally laid down herself.

~Sesshomaru's POV~

        When she began to sing, he immediately was pulled into consciousness. He became utterly entranced by her. He had never heard anything like it before. In fact, he could not stand most human voices, as they were often loud and unpleasant. However, her voice was as clear as water from a fresh spring and as sweet and smooth as warm honey. Listening to her felt like taking a warm bath; it was soothing and one could not help but relax. When she stopped, he was sorely disappointed. He kept his ears open in the hopes that she would start to sing again, but sadly she did not. He heard her carry the two children and put them to bed, and after giving each a kiss, she laid down as well.

        He listened to her heartbeat and the sound of her even breaths as she started to fall deeper into sleep. He wondered if it was at all possible for someone to change their heart completely in one day. It certainly seemed as if he did. The miko made him laugh, made him lust, and made it completely impossible to him focus because the majority of his brain could not stop thinking about her. And it all started with that damned "bikini" as she termed it.

        When he heard movement, he woke at once. He sniffed t the air and realized that it was Kagome. With the way the moon was positioned, he could tell that it was about two hours before dawn. He was curious as to why she would be awake at this time, when he heard her leave camp. He waited until she would no longer be able to hear him get up, and then moved to follow her. As he watched her from the shadows of the trees, he was surprised to find her standing in the surf. The wind blew quietly through her hair as if it was the caress of a lover, and on it he could smell her lovely scent. She began to sing softly to herself, and his ears were attuned to her voice. In the last light of the full moon, she looked like an unearthly creature. The pale moonbeams illuminated her skin and made her hair shine with its darkness. He found himself pulled to her as she sang her siren song. Without her noticing, he came and wrapped his arms around her.

~Kagome's POV~

        "What are you doing to this Sesshomaru?" a deep voice whispered in her ear as a large pair of arms encircled her waist.

'eh? EH?!' she thought frantically. Why would Sesshomaru be holding her, and did he whisper something like that to her? It had to be a joke, or some sort of ploy to get her to react so he could tease her later. But as she felt his hot breath blowing softly on her neck, she was feeling very willing to let this joke play out.

"S-Sesshomaru?" she whispered back in a shaky voice.

She turned to face him with question in her eyes and gasped as his mouth crushed hers in a searing kiss. Her mind went blank as he set fire to her body through his lips. He pulled away and looked into her eyes. She was dazed but she couldn't deny her disappointment at the absence of his lips.

As he looked at her he said, "I desire you Kagome. This Sesshomaru will not take you by force, for that is beneath me, however I will not let you go easily. This Sesshomaru will have what he wants."

She shivered at the rasp of his possessive tone and felt heat pool in her core as she thought of what he offered with his words.

Without thinking further, she lifted her arms around his neck and said in the most seductive whisper she could manage, "Have me then." She let herself fall deeper into his arms as he pulled her mouth to his once more.

~Sesshomaru's POV~

        She tasted divine. He ran his tongue across her lips, trying to entice her to deepen the kiss. When she gasped, he took the opportunity to enter her mouth. He growled in pleasure as she tentatively explored his fangs with her tongue. He took her bottom lip between his teeth and tugged with just enough force to avoid drawing blood. When her arousal spiked he smirked in sadistic satisfaction. 'So the lady likes it rough, hm? I am certainly willing to oblige' he thought to himself. He allowed her a moment to catch her breath as he kissed along her jaw line and up towards her ear. He proceeded to lick the shell of her delicate little ear, biting the lobe lightly and enjoying the cute pants and moans leaving the lips of the miko tucked in his arms. Wanting to taste her once more he returned to her mouth. She opened it invitingly when he touched his lips to hers once more and he took the invitation. He ran his tongue on the underside of hers and she sighed into his mouth, sending that deliciously intoxicating scent straight to his brain. He faintly recognized the lightening of the sky as they kissed, but paid it no mind. He focused on what drew out those sexy little moans and continued to do them. He noticed that she particularly liked it when he would scrape his claws lightly down her sensitive back; and also the way he played with her tongue by licking and sucking it in her mouth. His eyes were tinged red with the desire she brought from within him, and he had no intentions of stopping with just a few kisses. He broke their kiss for a second time, but was nowhere close to finished. He let his fangs graze lightly over her neck before he continued a downward trail of nips and licks. He was past her collarbone and oh so close to tasting those perfect breasts when two small projectiles launched into him from the side.

~Kagome's POV~

       Oh KAMI he was good! She was helpless to do anything but moan at the sensations he was bringing her. His claws had been roaming all over her sensitive skin beneath her uniform and he had just begun to caress her with his mouth, when two things flashed by and crashed into him. He did not budge of course, and when they began to move, that is when the both of them realized that the objects were Rin and Shippou.

"Please don't hurt Kagome-sama, Sesshomaru-sama!" the little girl cried as she tugged on one of the arms holding her to Sesshomaru.

"Yeah, stop hurting her!" Shippou wailed as he fought to pull the other arm.

Sesshomaru and Kagome stared at each other in shock, their moment completely forgotten for now. And then a thought struck her. 'Oh… they must have heard my moans and saw Sesshomaru using his claws and fangs, and thought that he was hurting me!' she concluded. When she thought about how what he had been doing was the exact opposite of that, she couldn't help the giggle that erupted from her lips. Sesshomaru began to laugh as well as he came to the same conclusion, and the mixture of her bell like laughter and his deep, throaty chuckle confused the children that had come to save her.

"This Sesshomaru has not harmed Kagome" he said to the two.

They both looked to her for verification and she smiled warmly at them.

"I'm fine guys. Sesshomaru didn't do anything to hurt me" she reassured the two children.

"Then why did Kagome-sama sound like she was in pain?" Rin asked with puzzlement in her large brown eyes.

Kagome almost choked; how was she supposed to explain to two young kids that she had almost given her virginity to the demon lord that had tried to kill her before, on a beach. No WAY was she going to do that. Suddenly she had an idea. Sesshomaru, who was suffering the same sort of brain malfunction, was completely unaware of her next move.

"How about Sesshomaru explains it to you?" she said in a cheery voice.

At that, Sesshomaru's head whipped around to look at her. She had to suppress a giggle as well as an evil smirk as she saw the dread in his eyes, which she had discovered were the only part of his face that betrayed emotion. Once she was at the camp, she let loose the laugh she had been holding in as she thought about Sesshomaru explaining the birds and the bees to Rin and Shippou.

~Sesshomaru's POV~

        What a sly woman she was. Now the two of them were looking expectantly at him and he was at a loss for one of the first moments in his long life.

"This Sesshomaru was… playing with Kagome" he said finally.

"Oh! Like when Kagome plays the tickle monster game with me?" Shippou asked.

"Indeed" Sesshomaru replied in relief, while not quite knowing what the "tickle monster game" was exactly.Both children nodded in understanding.

"Rin is sorry for yelling at Sesshomaru-sama" his ward said to him with sad eyes.

He patted the small child's head to reassure her he was not mad at her for trying to protect Kagome.

"You are forgiven" he said, "Now go play with the fox kit elsewhere."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!" she said before taking Shippou by the hand and running off towards the tide pools that were a little ways away.

Now that he wasn't occupied with the task of explaining what the children saw, he was left to his own thoughts. 'Damn!' he thought, 'I was nearly ready to take her before they showed up.' Sesshomaru wasn't sure if he should curse their timing or be grateful for it. He knew that he had not been in control entirely, and if he had taken her, he might not have been able to stop his beast from taking over and giving her a mating mark. No matter what he wanted, he couldn't simply mate her out of lust; even he wasn't cruel enough for something such as that. The more he thought about it the more he was thankful for the interruption.

        Youkai courts were no place for humans. Look at what had happened with his father and Inuyasha's mother; after he mated her challenges to his right as alpha cropped up every day. His body could not handle the strain of taking on both his challengers and hers, so when the final fight came, he died to protect her and Inuyasha. Izayoi had not been strong. She had been a ningen princess that father fell in love with for her looks and kind gentleness. And how could a ningen woman stand up to all the youkai female challengers? She could not; and his father had died for it. He would not make the same mistakes. When he chose a mate it would be for her loyalty, honor, and undeniable strength. No one of his bloodline would ever be called weak, and no one would dare challenge his authority as alpha or his mate's. And yet as he watched her look for the jewel shards and deal with his idiotic half brother, he could not help but see the loyalty, honor, and strength within her. That is not to say he would take her as a mate, for he had not changed his views so much that he could do such a thing. He simply acknowledged that she was not the dirt that he considered most ningens to be. Had she been youkai he would have mated her on the spot; it was a shame that she had been born to the weak race of humans. He found himself wondering if there was a way to remedy her humanity. 'If there is, I will not let anything stop me from obtaining it' he thought. The more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea became.

~Kagome's POV~

It was getting uncomfortable to say the least. Everywhere she went she felt his eyes on her. Whenever their eyes would meet she would blush to the roots of her hair, and the almost indiscernible smirk that appeared on his face when she did was almost too much! Even worse than that, Inuyasha kept glaring at her. He obviously knew that Sesshomaru hadn't been playing the "tickle monster game" with her, as the children were led to believe. Even as a half inu youkai, his sense of smell was powerful. Surely he would smell Sesshomaru's scent all over her, along with the lingering tang of her arousal, and he was not so naïve as to not know what that meant. Though the more she thought about it, the more his anger didn't make sense! He would sneak off to Kikyo all the time, coming back with the scent of clay and graveyard soil, and she always kept her thoughts to herself and off her face. Why shouldn't she be able to hook up with someone that wouldn't look at her and see a dead woman? Why was it that he got the best of both worlds, while she was left with nothing? It just wasn't FAIR! Fuming, she decided that she should go take a bath in a hot spring they had found about a five minute walk away.

"Where the hell are you goin'?" Inuyasha said, with a scowl on his face.

"I'm going to take a bath. Any more questions mother?" she snapped back.

"Keh" he scoffed before jumping up into a nearby tree.

She practically stomped her way to the hot spring, cursing Inuyasha every time she tripped, and by the time she got there she was mad as anything at the hanyou.

        Sinking into the warm water, she finally relaxed. As the time wore on, she became happier little by little. She was lightly humming to herself as she dried her hair, when she felt the aura of a youkai. She dropped her towel as she lunged for her quiver and bow. With an arrow quickly notched, she turned to face the direction of the approaching demon. When it was close enough she sensed that it had a jewel shard. Standing her ground she waited for it to come into the clearing. She did not have to wait long, because a huge lizard youkai soon burst through the trees.

"Where isssss it?" the thing hissed.

It was probably looking for the shard she carried around her neck, but she'd be damned before she handed it over. From her spot in the bushes, she fired an arrow before it could pin point where she was. It hit its target in one of its large red eyes, blazing with the pink light of her purification. The demon screeched in surprised pain as it looked wildly for her with its remaining eye. In its confusion she fired another arrow. This one hit the other eye and caused the youkai to shriek as it fell to the forest floor, writhing in agony. When it pulled both arrows out its eyes were dripping red as if it were crying tears of blood. The youkai's face contorted in rage as it addressed its attacker.

"If you were ssssmart, you would have masked your presence. Now that I know you are here, I will repay you tenfold for thissss inssssult. Just becausssse I cannot ssssee you, doessss not mean I cannot find you. I can ssssmell you ningen, and ssssoon my poisssson shall eat away at your flesh and I will take the shard of the Shikon no Tama"it said as it rose from the ground.

Suddenly the bush she was hiding behind melted away in a pool of sickly green liquid. She cried out in surprise but turned around to face her foe head on.

        That is, she would have, had she not tripped over the root of a nearby tree. She hit the forest floor with a thud and her bow was thrown off to the side. She let out a groan as she tried to move her ankle and found that it was twisted. She sat up as best she could and began to drag her way towards the fallen bow. She almost made it before a searing pain shot through her entire body. The youkai had been amused with her efforts to reclaim the bow, so once she was just within arm's reach, he spat a bit of his venom at her side. The screams the action had brought from her lips were music to its ears and it began to hiss in a manner of laughter. Kagome could barely register this as the poison made its way through her system, making her see spots in her vision. She could feel her miko powers battling the poison, but she knew it would not be enough.

"Inu…yasha" she whispered, praying that now of all times he would save her.

"INUYASHAAAA!" she screamed desperately.

"Your little hanyou protector isssss nowhere to be found it sssseemssss" the lizard demon said in a mocking voice, "Will he even be ssssaddened your abssssence?"

She felt like she was dying. She would die here alone, for Inuyasha had not come for her. When she looked up with pain blurred eyes and saw a Soul Collector making its way through the sky, her heart shattered. The reason he had not come for her, the reason she would die alone was because he was busy. He was with Kikyo. All of her emotions for the hanyou went cold in that moment. In that same moment, a fire began to burn within her. She felt it build up inside of her until she was sure she was the center of a brilliant inferno. Her eyes ignited with the righteous flames of her pure anger and her mind became as calm and smooth as a lake of glass. In that one moment, she saw with absolute clarity her mistakes. For so long she had wondered why she could not be more powerful. She tried and tried harder to become more like the legendary priestess Kikyo was said to be; and in that, she began to lose herself. She came to like Inuyasha despite his uncouth behavior, yet he too preferred the real Kikyo despite her being dead. Even then, she promised to stay by his side. She began to hide so far behind her façade of happiness, that her true feelings became hidden deep within her. But that was then. In her current state she realized that she was not weak, they had made her weak. She had believed so deeply in the lie of her helplessness, that she truly became helpless. Now she stood, with no feelings of inferiority to hold her back, and knew herself to be changed. All of these thoughts and self discoveries happened in a single second. When she rose and faced the lizard demon, she was no longer just Kagome, but rather something more.

~Lizard Demon's POV~

        How wonderful the look of utter despair was. How lovely the salty scent of tears, and the sharp tang of blood. He relished the destruction of the little miko before him, and would soon have the power of two shards to become even greater. He was about to finish her off, and was debating whether or not to do it slowly when he noticed something strange about her body. Around her body was a slight pink glow that seemed to be getting stronger. He neared her curiously and hissed in pain as her aura stung him. What was happening? He had felt the extent of her powers when she shot his eyes and she was not enough to defeat him on her own. And in her current state, she should not still be conscious enough to maintain a barrier. Yet he watched in disbelief as she even began to move. The pink glow surrounding her became a veritable inferno as she rose to her feet. He was starting to feel a bit nervous as he watched her stand; there was no scent of fear on her as she stood before him.

"So you believe me weak? So weak that I could not possibly win without his help?" she said, her voice magnified by power.

She opened her eyes in a glare and he hissed in surprise. Her eyes glowed with the same pink fire that surrounded her being, and there was no longer any discernible iris or pupil, just that unbelievable power.

"Well what do you think of me now? Do I lack power? Do I need to be saved?" she said as she let her aura flare out, "Tell me of my weakness now."

He was completely smothered by his own fear now as he looked at the powerful miko taking the place of the pitiful one. He tried to run, but after he had taken two steps, he knew no more.

~Kagome's POV~

        She almost felt like laughing at the crazy power flowing through her body. It had felt like letting out a long held in breath. Except she had not known she'd been holding it! She had realized that every time Inuyasha had saved her, he had also hurt her. If he had shown up, she would still be prisoner to her feelings for him and would have been denied the chance to discover her own strength yet again. She almost thanked Inuyasha, almost. Her senses were heightened and she could smell the fear rolling off the lizard demon in waves. She wondered idly if this is what it was like to be a youkai. If it was, she could finally understand why Inuyasha wanted to be a full one so badly. While she had been thinking about this, the lizard had decided to run. Without even thinking about it, she lashed out her aura, and watched as it wrapped around him in a deadly cocoon. He was purified instantly and she was surprised at just how easy it was. She glanced up and saw another soul creature float by, and this time she took off to follow it. Her newfound power allowed her to easily keep pace with the flying youkai. After about ten minutes she landed just before a clearing. She masked her scent and aura in order to walk to the edge of the clearing without being noticed. What she saw there would have made the old Kagome run away and cry, but the new Kagome simply smirked. Inuyasha had Kikyo pinned to the forest floor as he ravaged her mouth and his hands explored her body. Kagome casually walked up to the oblivious couple and sat at their level.

"So this is where necrophilia started off from…" she said.

At that very second Kagome was sorely disappointed not to have her camera with her. For if she had carried it with her, she could have captured the most spectacular expression of shock she had ever seen, which currently sat upon the stunned hanyou's face.

        "K-k-ka-ka-KAGOME!" he stuttered as he immediately sat up from his compromising position.

"Hey there!" she said in an overly cheerful voice.

Inuyasha had confusion written all over his face at her tone. Usually if she had caught them like this, hurt would show in her eyes and he would be able to smell the slight salt of her forming tears; but he smelled no salt and could detect no despair in her aura.

"So I went to take a bath, where I was viciously attacked by a lizard youkai with a jewel shard" she said in an almost nonchalant tone.

When he registered her words he jumped up and sniffed the air for any sign of danger.

At his actions she laughed and said, "Oh don't bother getting all protective now… I was close enough to death to taste it before my powers saved me. I called for you, but I guess you were - busy."

By the end of that sentence her voice had taken on a deadly edge. With her new senses she could smell the guilt radiating off of him as well as the suffocating scent of clay, death, and graveyard dirt that always seemed to hang around Kikyo. Seriously, she wondered how his sensitive nose could stand it when she herself was fighting her gag reflex.

"I just dropped by to tell you that you won't have to worry about me getting in the way of your little corpse romance anymore. You were only ever holding me back from reaching my true potential anyways. So have fun with the dead chick 'kay?" she said before turning around and following her nose back to their camp on the beach.

Inuyasha was speechless. He had absolutely no clue what had just happened, but he could not help feeling as if he had lost something.

~Sesshomaru's POV~

        He smelled the change in her before she came in to view. Where before she only hinted at power, now strength flowed from her aura and caused her sweet scent to have a slight charge beneath it. His beast growled its approval at the change and he too agreed that the power she now displayed was enticing. But as he sniffed the air once more, he could not help but wonder at the other difference he smelled. She no longer smelled entirely human. She smelled as youkai smelled; she smelled of power. Yet he could still scent mortality on her. It was truly puzzling, but he could not help thinking of the possibilities it presented. If she was indeed as strong as his senses indicated (and his senses were never wrong), then he could accept her as a mate without disgracing his line. If he mated her, her lifespan would grow to match his and her strength would ensure him strong pups. He had interesting theories on how her miko powers would affect this matter, but he was certain she could produce full blooded youkai pups. This combined with her spiritual powers made him wonder if his any of his pups would inherit them. He could see their power now in his mind, and he wanted it to be reality. In that moment all of his thoughts focused on how to get the miko to agree to be his mate. He did not anticipate difficulty for he did not find himself lacking in any category. However, her attachment to his idiot of a half-brother could prove to be an obstacle. She sauntered into camp with a lithe grace that had not been present before, and he could not contain his damned inu curiosity.

"What has happened to you, miko? You seem different to this Sesshomaru…" he asked in a low voice.

When she walked up to him she teased him by running a single finger down his bare chest.

"Is it a bad different?" she asked back with a playful glint in her cerulean eyes.

He caught her hand and lightly nipped the offending finger before whispering back in a rumbling tone, "Not at all."

He watched as she blushed and turned to sit on the futon she called a sleeping bag. Before she sat down he caught her by the waist and gave her neck an affectionate nuzzle before setting her down. A moment later, everyone returned to the campsite including the still confused hanyou. He watched as she prepared meals for everyone and smelled no hurt or lingering resentment in her scent.

        He knew that Inuyasha had gone to see the dead priestess and also knew that Kagome was aware of that fact, but he did not sense any feeling of sadness from her. It was like she did not care at all. He grinned inwardly. 'Maybe it will not be as hard to convince her as I previously assumed' he thought to himself. He glanced around at the group eating before him and decided to make an announcement.

"I will be returning to the Western Lands with Rin and the miko" he stated.

"Well it's about damn tim- wait, WHAT?!" the idiot hanyou sputtered as he choked on the ramen he was eating.

"This Sesshomaru does not repeat himself half-breed" he said coldly.

"Like hell! You're not takin' Kagome ANYWHERE, she's mine!" Inuyasha spat, jumping to his feet.

Sesshomaru growled at the challenge, but was cut off by a different snarl. Kagome had also gotten to her feet and was letting her aura flare out in response to his words.

"How dare you. I'm not your ANYTHING!" she growled out.

His beast purred at her strength. 

'She will make a fine mate. The miko is strong and she matches us well' his beast said in his mind.

Sesshomaru could not help but agree as she fiercely defended herself to the hanyou's claim. Inuyasha was cowed by the immense pressure of her aura and his ears were laid back against his skull as his beast recognized that she was stronger, even if his mind did not. Deciding to get back to the matter at hand, he turned to her.

"Kagome, will you return with this Sesshomaru or not? I will train you and you will be able to finish your quest along with me" he said to her.

She looked to him with surprised eyes. She was confused at his request but was not against it either. She looked again at Inuyasha and seemed to make a decision.

Turning back to him she asked, "May I take Shippou with me?"

"Hn" he allowed.

It would do Rin well to have a playmate her age anyways. She brightened up and turned to her other friends. Looking to Sango first she held out her arms.

The two embraced and he heard Kagome say, "You know why I have to leave right?"

The slayer hugged her tighter and said back, "But I still wish you didn't have to go."

They held each other while both holding back tears until Kagome leaned back in order to continue her goodbyes. Miroku was next in line and as they hugged, his forever roaming hands were for once at bay.

She released him with a stern "You treat my Sango right or I will make sure you are the first monk to go to hell".

When she finally looked at Inuyasha, the tears she had been holding in finally spilled over. She embraced him as well and said, "You will always be my friend, but I will never settle for being a replacement." He nodded mutely because for once there were no words he could say.

        The next few hours were spent packing up camp and having as much fun as possible before they parted ways. When it was finally time to leave, everyone had come to terms with the decision. As the four left the beach behind, Sesshomaru thought that it was lucky Rin had chosen the beach. He would soon have a beautiful mate and powerful heirs, but there was one thing he could not forget.

Pulling Kagome close to his side he leaned down to whisper lightly in her ear, "I do hope you packed that 'bikini' for this Sesshomaru intends to see it again in a more- intimate setting."

He enjoyed the blush that spread across her cheeks as she muttered, "Hentai." As the sun set and they left the beach far behind, he could not help the small smile that planted itself upon his usually stoic features. He knew his life would not lack excitement in the future, and looked forward to experiencing it all with her.

A/N: Whew! That was a long one… if anyone even bothered reading to this point, pretty please review and tell me what you think. It was just a start, but I kind of liked the idea and want to write a few more chapters (where the lemon will take place), but I really don't feel like going through the trouble if you all hated the first one. So please review! Comments, questions, flames, and help are all appreciated.

DC: Hey Maru-chan! Do you think people will like it or review?

Sesshomaru: If they possess enough kindness or pity...

DC: Wah! So mean Maru-chan!

Sesshomaru: *narrows eyes* Do not address this Sesshomaru so familiarly, or with such a ridiculous nickname.

DC: *narrows eyes as well* Ma. Ru. Chan. *sticks tongue out*

Sesshomaru: *radiates murderous intent*

DC:*Yelps* Ciao for now! I will update soon..... unless I shouldn't.............. or I am killed by Sesshomaru.

Credits: So the lullaby was inspired by the first portion of "Lullaby for a Princess" by Ponyphonic. (YouTube it, it's so pretty!)

Things to know:

Necrophilia= sexual intercourse with or attraction toward corpses.

Hentai = pervert