How not to write Sesshoumaru/Kagome.
For fanfiction, I seem to be just as fussy as I am with my food. I often say that I'll eat anything, but then I'll have a whole host of exceptions, like corn off the cob, kidney beans, macaroni with other foods in it, peas sans pea pods, omelets, musk melon, lima beans (I swear to God that my parents made Al and I eat them throughout our childhood just to enjoy the disgusted expressions on our faces. They never eat lima beans now), and cold cooked spinach.
So it is with fics. Oh, sure, I'll say that I am easily amused and you should just rec me anything...but it's just not true.
If I like canon, it usually follows that I like the characters paired up in canon. If, however, the subtext is too strong (Heero/Duo, for example) or the creator likes to mess with his/her audience (Joss Whedon, you make me ship incest!), then I blithely skip into the poppy fields with my fellow "it's not canon, but it's damn HOT" fans.
For Inuyasha, I like the canon, hence I stick mainly to canon pairings. And that probably explains why I cannot stand the Sesshoumaru/Kagome pairing. It grates on me like nothing else. I have no idea why it's so popular, and most of the fanfics I've read of it fantasti-sucked. But if you want to read good Sess/Kag stories, check these out:
Alas, after fluffyfluffybun asked for Inuyasha fanfiction recommendations, and also mentioned that Sess/Kag gets a thumbs up from her, I got curious. Curiosity led to reading. Reading led to a broken brain. It's remarkably easy to make me malfunction. So what have I learned from all this reading? I still hate the Sesshoumaru/Kagome pairing.
In the normal scheme of events, your typical Sess/Kag story starts out with Inuyasha having sex with Kikyou. Kagome witnesses this and runs off in tears, only to be comforted by Sesshoumaru, who suddenly gives a damn about humans. In fact, he cares so much that he and Kagome have sex themselves! And everyone lives happily ever after.
The three fics I will review have...transcended?...this cliché. *shudders*
I eat my kidney beans before my mac and cheese, I rip my band-aids off, and I watched Buffy Season 6 in order to understand Buffy Season 7. Let's get the worst of the three fics over with first, shall we?
1. "Never Gonna Let You Go" by InuyashaPuppyDog
The parings listed for this fic are what drew me in. I saw that there was going to be Inuyasha/Kagome, and somehow thought that this would be the fanfiction equivalent of slowly wading into a lake to get acclimated to the cold water. My first clue that I should have run away screaming closed the tab? "Rated X for language, violence, rape later on."
I have a...thing about rape in Inuyasha fanfiction. Mainly because it's never, ever, ever handled well.
So Inuyasha accidentally wishes the well closed, trapping Kagome in the past forever. She's pissed as hell, initially, but the potential is there for lots of I/K squishy moments, until Kagome gets almost raped by a bunch of bandits. She's rescued by Kouga, who decides to take her back to the den and rape her in front of the entire wolf pack. (The rape in this story also includes the author raping in-character behavior.)
Inuyasha rescues her, but she's pregnant. Kagome decides to give birth to the wolf hanyou, and Inuyasha is very supportive, yadda yadda yadda. Then they have plagiarism sex.
Never Gonna Let You Go, Chapter 13
"You're mother willingly birthed and fed you."
"I know. And then she died when I was still quite young. When I tried to find food I was always attacked by villagers or demons. I once followed a dog demoness who was pregnant. She was a low ranking demoness ...she couldn't turn human ... but after her pups were born I tried to sneak my way in. Even she wouldn't accept me.", his voice lowered to a whisper.
Takeshi finished his meal and Kagome burped him. Falling asleep almost immediately, Kagome laid the pup in his basket to sleep and covered him with a light blanket. Turning around to face Inuyasha, she didn't bother to close her kimono, giving him an eyeful. He blushed and turned away,
"Inuyasha?", she said, sweetly, reaching out for his head and turning him to face her, "I would have fed you if I could."
As proof, she lowered his head until it was in front of her left nipple. Pulling him closer, she encouraged him to suckle. He timidly reached out his tongue and licked the perked up nipple. Pushing herself closer to him, he opened his mouth and took in what she offered. Wrapping his arms around her, he suckled deeply, taking in what their son had left behind. Kagome couldn't help but moan softly as she ran her fingers through Inuyasha's silver locks and played with his snowy ears.
[....]
He felt her tugging his hair gently and he came up to meet her face,
"That was fabulous.", she told him sweetly.
"I didn't know a woman could have a release too.", he told her.
"Yes we can."
Terri Botta, The Lucky Ones, Chapter 14
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking again.
"No one fed me. When my mother died, no one fed me. No one cared if I lived or died. My mother was a noblewoman but no one gave a damn that I was her son. I was just a filthy half-breed nobody wanted. I had no idea how to feed or take care of myself. I scrounged food from the kitchens and the garbage, eating whatever I could get my hands on. They'd chase me out when they caught me and beat me for `stealing.' I was filthy and starving, but nobody cared."
[....]
"There was an inu-youkai bitch with three pups on my brother's lands. I watched her for weeks, hoping that if she got used to my scent and I learned her ways, that maybe she'd accept me. That's how I know so much about pups. But she rejected me when I approached her, and my brother scruffed and cuffed me severely for even trying. I was sore for days from his beating, and I'll never forget what he told me that night. He said no youkai would want me because I was a lowly hanyou, tainted with human blood, and the dirt beneath a true youkai's feet. No one would ever accept me. That was when I understood my mother's tears that one time. Why she had cried for me. She had known what my life would be like, and she had wept for my sake."
[....]
There was a rustle of cloth and the sound of something falling to the ground, then Kagome's hands were on his head and shoulders, turning him to look at her. She'd taken off his haori and her shirt and bra, and her bare breasts were exposed to him, the nipples reddened from Yukio's earlier nursing. He blinked at her, confused and unsure of what she was doing.
"Kagome?"
She shook her head, her eyes still brimmed with tears, put one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his cheek, and pulled him towards her. Gently, she brought him to her breast and pressed his mouth to her nipple.
"I would have fed you. I would have…"
He let out a choked sound that might have been a whimper, and her hands tangled themselves in his hair, urging him to take what she offered. Opening his mouth, he let his lips surround the toughened nipple and began to lightly suck.
Kagome felt him start to nurse and put her arms around him as she let more tears fall down her cheeks. His sucking was so different from the infant's, his mouth gentle and his tongue softly licking. She knew she had only a very little bit of milk left, no more than a mouthful at the very most after Yukio finished nursing, but she didn't need milk to feed him. The very act of bringing him to her breast and letting him suckle was enough. Right now, she was feeding the abandoned orphan whom no one wanted, the little boy Inuyasha who had lost his mother and never known his father; the lonely, bereft child that still lived inside the adult hanyou and begged to be comforted.
[...]
She would remember his face after his first climax, the way his eyes rolled back and his jaw dropped open, and how he had cried out her name in the final moment. Then the look of shocked embarrassment when he learned that women could climax too, and that she had been left unsatisfied. She'd asked him to help her pleasure herself and he did her one better, insisting that her pleasure was his responsibility. He'd brought his mouth to the juncture of her thighs, and she discovered that his tongue was the most amazing thing in the world.
I quoted such long passages because there were little word-for-word stealing and more rewriting an entire scene of a highly recognizable fanfic.
The three of them live a happy life until Ginta and Hakkaku show up to take little Takeshi and raise him to be the next wolf youkai leader. Inuyasha takes off after them, and Kagome is lured to Sesshoumaru's palace by his mate, Kagura.
Sesshoumaru makes Kagome into a servant, a hanyou, and his sex slave. Meanwhile, Inuyasha gives up on his lost love and son and turns to Kikyou for comfort. Kagome gives birth to several of Sesshoumaru's children and eventually becomes Lady of the Western Lands.
Chapter 18:
Sesshoumaru climbed on top of her and began using his vine whip as a rope, tying her up with her arms behind her back. She felt the burn of the poison, but was surprised it didn't appear as strong as normal. Still partially asleep and in shock over what was happening, she never really fought back.
Sesshoumaru sliced through her clothes as easily as a hot knife through butter. There she was, naked, vulnerable, bound, and terrified of what he had in store for her. What he had in store for her was sheer terror. She watched in horror as he slipped out of his clothes and stood there naked before her. She started to cry and beg to be released and that only made matters worse.
Forcing open her mouth, he pushed his member inside her mouth and grabbed the back of her hair. Forcing himself deeper into her throat, she gagged and started to throw up. This only made him angrier,
"Pathetic human. No ...you're not human anymore. You're a hanyou. A pathetic hanyou.", he commented as he forced her to suck him.
Her mouth and jaw hurt from from the forcefulness and from his size. Just when she thought she would gag again, he removed himself and flipped her onto her knees. As she begged for him to stop, he pushed his entire hand inside her moist cunt. Fisting her roughly, she cried louder, her sobs filling the room. He then entered her from behind and shoved his cock deep inside her. As he was doing so, he shoved first two, three, then four fingers up her anus, making her scream louder in pain.
This continued throughout the night, with Sesshoumaru raping her numerous times. She lost count of the times he climaxed his seed onto her and started anew, his assault on her body. By morning, she would be freed and ordered to bathe. As she laid in the tub, her sobs started again and she cried out for Inuyasha to come and rescue her.
But he never did. As the months went by, the nightly rape only stopped when Sesshoumaru was out patrolling the lands, and even that didn't always bring and end to it. Sometimes, he still showed up, the pinkish bubble appearing in her room late at night. Her life became a routine of caring and playing with Rin during the day (and having to look like she wanted to be there, lest she upset Rin), and becoming Sesshoumaru's sex slave at night.
She quickly learned that disobedience would not be tolerated. Trying to fight back one night, Sesshoumaru ordered his demon guard up into her room. 10 of them. He ordered them to have their way with her while he watched her humiliation. All 10 took turns at her and then they didn't wait for turns. They decided to see how much she could take, as they stuffed every hole she had. When one would finish, another would take his place. And they weren't careful with their claws, as she found herself sliced and bloody. Her crying and pleading fell on deaf ears as Sesshoumaru merely watched and the demon guard laughed at her predicament.
After that humiliating night, she refused Sesshoumaru no more, instead allowing him to do what he wished to her. It was far better than been gang raped by a group of demons.
Chapter 20:
Sesshoumaru had grown kinder to Kagome, even beginning to call her Lady Kagome. Their relationship had become less of slave/master and more of a lovers relationship over the years. In spite all that he had done to her in the beginning, Kagome had begun to see a soft side to Sesshoumaru and her heart went out to him. She had even begun to look forward to his nightly visits and their lovemaking.
Chapter 26:
Kagome's life was full of happiness and hope. Although her mind would wander sometimes to the past and to Inuyasha, she found her current life fulfilling and desirable. Sesshoumaru had turned into an admirable mate and father and, with Kagome's guidance, an exceptional leader. Kgome truly loved him and, for the first time in her long life, had understood the dilemma that Inuyasha had always faced with her and Kikyou.
Because, really, who wouldn't fall in love with and marry their brutal rapist? Pardon me while I lose my lunch into this handy bucket.
Every character in the story is so hideously OOC that I felt horrified and yet fascinated by the depths this author could sink to. This rubbernecking caused me to read the rest of the fic, which doesn't improve. (How can it?) Kikyou pins Inuyasha to a tree again, for sneaking back to Kaede's village to see if Kagome has shown up yet. He lies in stasis until a now-adult Takeshi reunites with his now-hanyou mother, who pulls the arrow out. Which leads to this memorable exchange from Chapter 30:"I don't know his true intentions, at least, I'm not sure. Afterwards, he kept calling me a pathetic half-demon when he would force me to ..."
"He didn't? He forced you into mating him?", asked a shocked Inuyasha, "I didn't even think Sesshoumaru would stoop that low."
"But then he started becoming kinder, gentler,", she said, twisting her hands, "And he asked me to bear him pups and..."
"WHAT? Kagome, you didn't ...tell me you didn't!"
"Inuyasha! I did. I FELL IN LOVE WITH SESSHOUMARU!", she yelled.
Inuyasha stepped back, sweatdropped and left eye-twitching, "YOU WILLINGLY MATED WITH HIM?", he screamed.
"I knew it couldn't last.", said Shippou, with a sigh.
"YES I DID!", she screamed back.
"YOU BETRAYED ME!", screamed Inuyasha.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! HE TOLD ME YOU WERE!", she screamed back.
"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?"
"I HAD NO REASON TO DOUBT HIM!", Kagome screamed.
"JUST WHO HE IS WAS REASON TO DOUBT HIM!", screamed Inuyasha.
"And what about you? When you were looking for me ...did you ever think to ask him if he had seen me?", countered Kagome.
"I did!", he answered.
"And?", she queried.
"He told me he hadn't seen you!", said Inuyasha.
"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?", she screamed back.
"That's different.", he countered.
"WHY?", she asked, loudly.
"Because I know him better than you did. I could tell when he was lying!", Inuyasha spat out.
"OH YEA? Well, obviously you couldn't because he WAS lying. He was holding me captive back then!"
"Still ..Kagome ...you mated with him! Willingly!", said Inuyasha.
"And you? Where were you that you ended up getting yourself pinned to this tree again? With Kikyou?", she demanded to know.
"And what if I was?", he countered.
"Back then before you were pinned, I was trapped at Sesshoumaru's castle ...forced to be a slave to him. I didn't become his willing partner until after you were pinned to the tree. So you betrayed ME!", she yelled.
"I didn't know where you were. I was lonely. I thought I lost you. But, I didn't want to go to Hell with Kikyou and so I agreed to stay with her here in the land of the living ...", he said, trying to explain himself.
"And I was alone and thought you were dead. How is that different?", she said, the tears forming.
"It just is. I didn't have any kids with Kikyou. And Kikyou wasn't our arch enemy! Besides, how would Sesshoumaru know whether I was dead or pinned or what?", asked Inuyasha.
Ah, the Capslock of Irreconcilable Differences True Love. Despite their differences (such as they were spelled out) and fact that they are both horrid, reprehensible characters at this point, Kagome and Inuyasha reconcile. Takeshi and his original parents reconcile. And everybody live happily ever after--with Kagome acting as a baby machine once again! Because the only good Kagome is a fertile Kagome. Duh.
This fic has scarred me so much that I don't feel the need to point out all the spelling mistakes and grammatical annoyances. The story itself is so awful that it overwhelms my usually insatiable need to nitpick.
*shudders and rocks back and forth*
Unfortunately, we're not out of Rape Woods yet.
2. By The River of Shadowed Moments by quirkyslayer
This fanfic is so supremely disappointing on so many levels. The first is that I genuinely enjoy Quirkyslayer's fanfiction, and this is a piece of trash. The second is that I thought an author whose work I had read and liked before, and who frequently dabbles in the Sess/Kag pairing, would be able to bring me over to the dark side convince me that this is a good pairing, one worthy of not hating. The third is the frustratingly unacknowledged rapes which litter the story.
Sesshoumaru has condition which causes him to go into "heat" once a month and yes, it's a stupid plot device, but the author has an explanation. Searching for a woman to, ah, take care of his problem (because he can't just jerk off!), Sesshoumaru comes across Kagome and offers not to kill Inuyasha if she allows him to slake his lust. With such a tempting offer, how can a girl refuse?
I'm still convinced that their arrangement is rape.Chapter 1 (I bolded the most relevant parts):
She knew Sesshoumaru hated humans, and for the life of her she could never understood why he chose her. He could have just raped some woman and moved on. But ever since their first time, she had realized that he wasn't that sort of person. He was too noble and decent to rape someone, a fact that she had never known. She had assumed that since he was such a ruthless killer, the way he treated women was the same way.
It was untrue.
Unbeknownst to her, he was actually intrigued with her when he came upon her in the forest that fateful day. With a mixture of lust, familiarity, and precognition, he wanted her, and since their respective groups were always in the same region looking for Naraku’s whereabouts, she could be of use to him. Of course he didn't care about her, but it was rather that he knew her, and to take her would surely enrage his brother. In addition, his problem of trying to scramble and find some demon female would be solved. Although, of course, he had some scruples. He would never force her against her will.
So instead, he bribed her.
"I will promise to never attempt to kill Inuyasha or take Tetsusaiga again if you do this for me," he had said.
"For how long?" She had asked, stupefied at the request.
She thought that if she refused, he would kill her. She had to do this out of fear and for Inuyasha. He could kill Inuyasha or her at anytime; maybe this was something that she could do besides be an awkward miko-wannabe, though she felt a little dirty agreeing to such a thing.
I could be wrong, but bribes usually don't include the bribed person agreeing because they fear for their lives and the lives of their friends. That sounds more like a capitulating to a threat, or at least forced coercion. And just because a rapist forces their victim to agree to be raped does not, you know, negate the fact that the act being committed is rape.
And from the passage above, Kagome sounds like she's got a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome. Sesshoumaru is "too noble and decent to rape someone"? Oh, honey.Chapter 3:
"I'm so sorry, Inu-Yasha," she sobbed, feeling all her pain of the recent days of shame and rejection by her friends flowing through her. "I had no choice. He came to me, and I thought he'd kill me if I refused. When he offered the deal, I thought I would stop being useless to you, that I could do something for a change to protect you! I didn't care what it was! I wanted to do it for us! To protect us! I never thought he'd keep me..." her voice trailed off and she knew Inu-Yasha was listening closely. "I never thought he'd continue. I thought, since I was a human, he'd get bored with me and throw me aside. But..." she could feel Inu-Yasha shaking with fury and aguish in her arms. "... He never let me go...and I ...never let him go..."
And, of course, medieval men can't be expected to know that no means no."What the hell? Wha...What are you doing? I hate you!" she lashed at him, her body trying to squirm free of his needy grasp. Sesshoumaru gave her piercing look. His stoic mask did not waver once. He held her with such strength, and his eyes peered into her soul demanding submission. She became weak when she realized that portions of her body and mind desired this from him. She remembered herself realizing that he was the one person that made her into a woman. Her pelvis warmed to the thought of this. She stuttered in confusion and overwhelming emotions. "Don't you hate me too? You're the one who said..."
He cut her off as he pressed his lips on hers again. He muffled her cries of protest. Finally, she was subdued, kissing into him. Then she would randomly struggle, her senses telling her not to relive her sins again. The pitiful shamed glances her friends gave her flashed in her mind.
'No...'
"Get off! Let me go! I hate you!" She struggled in his grasp, her hands balling in fists. He said nothing. He shoved her to the ground again, and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her as her head made rough contact with the ground. She glared at him ferociously.
The more she struggled, the more he wanted her.
He let go of one of her arms to free his hand. She pounded on his face. He sliced off her clothes. She gasped, and then made a noise of violation.
"I don't want this!"
"Your body says otherwise!" he retorted, and then he let her go, but he straddled her with his weight immobilizing her. She became slack, but her eyes remained angry.
"You bastard," she huffed. Her bare chest heaved with adrenaline and chaotic emotions. She watched him sordidly, yet her body bucked under him in wanton lust. She felt contemptible. She would only enjoy this dirty play if she could fully blame him.
"I won't do it, no matter what my body is telling you. My shame runs deep enough!" she spat at him. He managed to delicately squirm free of his lower robes. He hovered over her, his hand stroking absently at her hair. And all through this, his face read no emotion. He was only doing what his body wanted him to do.
"You're ashamed that you're with me," he chuckled dangerously. "Oh, I too feel the shame as you do." He stuck a clawed finger inside her, and she gasped at the pleasurable intrusion. Her eyes looked upward to the starry sky as he licked the skin that wrapped thinly over her clavicle. "After all, you are a mere human."
"So...you're just going to have your way with me and kill me afterward, right?" she patronized him. "I'm only a stupid human. What use could I possibly be to you further after you get what you want from me?" She moaned as he dug his finger deeper within her core. Her legs wriggled around his arm. He could feel her wetness blanket his hand and wrist.
Then, feeling that she was wet enough, he shifted himself closer to her. She looked away as he entered inside her. She had a scowl of disinterest on her face. Her muscles would twinge sporadically as he began to shift inside her. She would will herself to not enjoy it. Maybe that way the sin wouldn't cut as deep.
He grabbed her chin and made her face him. She glared at him, and he became more intrigued when her lip rippled to reveal some of her teeth. He unexpectedly smirked.
He swiftly pulled out of her. She made a gasp of shock as his manhood imprinted a burn on her inner walls. She screamed softly as he grabbed her hair and then pulled her up with him. She stood gaining balance on her feet, and then with a strong surge of physical strength, she pushed him away from her. His grasp on her hair remained steadfast, and she was pushed along with him. Still, she felt victorious even if she only pushed him a few steps from his original stance.
He growled, his smirk remaining on his flawless face. He whipped her around, and slammed her body against a tree. She felt her skin scrape against the bark. She mewled in pain. He pushed his hand on her back, not letting her go. He reached down with his other hand and spread her legs. He lifted her hips and impaled himself within her. She screamed from the pain of the scratching of the bark and the rough ecstasy as he bore into her.
Her slick thighs rocked swiftly against his, and she felt his balls beat systematically against her in each one of his thrusts. She screamed, feeling the burning erotica that he rammed into her.
Despite the roughness, her body was becoming fulfilled. She wanted so badly to hate him. She snarled when he grabbed her breast and squeezed it to the brink of immeasurable pain. She said in a ragged breath. "You bastard, I hate you."
Okay, just because you come? Doesn't make this some kind of mutually agreed-upon hate sex. The body can do strange things in stressful circumstances. It's not unheard of for rape victims to orgasm while being raped, but that doesn't mean that they want to be violated. Kagome repeatedly verbally states that she doesn't want to have have sex with him. Kagome physically resists. That makes it rape.
Look, I don't have anything against non-consensual/reluctant sex in fanfiction. In fact, it's kind of one of my fanfiction kinks (sorry, that was probably TMI, wasn't it?). But there is a great deal of difference between non-consensual/reluctance and rape. The situation in this fic is rape, pure and simple, and it drives me crazy that it's not being labeled as such.Chapter 4:
"Don't!" she commanded, her eyes ablaze. Her voice was pleading, and he didn't like the sound of it. "Please, leave."
She was different than before. Her body did not swell with arousal for him, and yet the only emotion he could sense was fear and worry. He stopped in his tracked and studied her.
"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru," she sighed, still clutching herself to hide from him. She acted as if she had regained her innocence. "I may have been out of it, but I really meant what I said last time. I don't want it to happen again."
Her words rang with truth, but there was an exception laced within her intention.
Because that totally makes it okay! *gnashes teeth*
I feel (and this can definitely be argued) that Kagome is way OOC in this story. She doesn't scream for help when Sesshoumaru approaches her with his "bribe," she justifies having sex/being raped for barter, she lies to her friends, and she keeps lying to them after she comes clean. She cries all the time (which I suppose could be because of all the emotional turmoil she's going through) and I hate overused weepy!Kagome. Kagome is a strong character, people. The only times we see her cry is when something happens to Inuyasha, and it's usually an after-the-fact release kind of thing.
On the other hand, besides his sudden infatuation for Kagome, the only OOC thing about Sesshoumaru is that he has two arms. Quirkyslayer stated that this is an AU, but it's more like an AR or something. For me, AU usually means changing the setting entirely.
This fic is still ongoing, but I'm done with it.
3. This Mess We're In by volpa
I genuinely liked this fic. (Shocking!) And I'm not saying that just because there is a refreshing lack of rape in it.
The premise is that something happened in the past that Kagome doesn't remember. She's now back in her time, taking college classes and doing her normal routine. We get flashbacks to the past that slowly build up to whatever awful thing that happened which Kagome can't recall, starting with Inuyasha's abandonment of her.
This is a well-written fic, crafted with skill and care. It's humorous and tensely gripping by turns. The characters are believable, the situations are plausible, and the original characters are even endearing (if a bit over-the-top). I can see and understand why this Kagome and Sesshoumaru are going to fall for each other. And the sex scenes are hot.
That does not mean, however, that there are not problems with the story. The modern day stuff is boring and initially repetitive, and I ended up skimming through a lot of it. We all know where the story is going in that regard and I don't see the need to keep the focus on the present when nothing much happens, although the fight at the construction site and its aftermath were excellent.
Characterization, for the most part, is good. Inuyasha is not a jerk who runs off to Kikyou after Kagome shatters the jewel again. He worries after he can't find her, and ignores the now-alive Kikyou that joins the Inuyasha-tachi. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou get minor roles. Sesshoumaru has two arms again (what, is he not as desirable if he's lost an arm?) but his reactions to his unwanted attraction to Kagome make sense to me. He fights it and then when he gives in, he convinces himself it's what he's wanted all along. This feels very true to his characterization.
It's Kagome that feels slightly OOC for me. Fiery spirit, check. Argumentative in the face of certain death, check. Babbling like an idiot, ch...wait. What? It's not helped by the sometimes nonsensical narration that accompanies her words and actions. Leave writing like Terry Pratchett to Terry Pratchett, volpa.
An excerpt just to give you a taste of what the fic is like (from Chapter 7):"I can't believe you are being so rude! What exactly is your problem?" Kagome hissed at Sesshoumaru, whose hand still anchored her to his side.
Kazuo, steady as a rock, seemed to remember something. He stood and retired to another room, telling Aya that he'd forgotten about the tea. She immediately followed. Gods, she thought to herself. Clearly, those two were crazed. Perhaps it had been an error of judgment to invite them into her home, but it was too late now, she thought with a beleaguered sigh.
Sesshoumaru just glared at Kagome in response to her mutinous expression. If she lacked the discernment to see that the boy was a degenerate on her own, then he certainly was not going to tell her.
Kagome was fuming. What on earth was wrong with him?
"What is the matter with talking to Seiji? He seems perfectly nice, and he's friendly."
Nice? Friendly? These were supposed to be good qualities? The youkai stiffened with anger.
The woman beside him continued, oblivious to his incipient fulmination.
"I like him. He seems like a good guy." Sesshoumaru's glower only intensified as Kagome continued to speak. "And hasn't it occurred to you that I'm asking these people for a massive favor? It wouldn't kill you to be polite. Aya doesn't have to help me, you know. If she doesn't, I'll be stuck, and Naraku will probably kill me without even putting in a tiny bit of effort, and mmmmnrph-"
The long speech that Kagome had planned on the value of good manners was greatly impeded by the fact that Sesshoumaru had suddenly hauled her into his lap and kissed her. The firm, hungry pressure of his mouth, and the way his hands were caressing her sides caused her brain to take a brief vacation and her body to take over the reins. He parted her lips with his, and slowly stroked his tongue into her mouth as her hands fisted in his hair. When she started to reciprocate, he pulled away and replaced her on the floor next to him with a thud.
Kagome looked up at him in confusion, only to see a smug glint in his amber eyes. He looked like he'd just proved some kind of point.
Her eyes widened. Why, of all the childish. . .
"Oh gods," she whispered in shock, "you're jealous!"
"I have no idea what you are speaking of," he replied in a tone that would be better suited to ordering office supplies over the phone. She felt a surge of irritation. "Why would I be jealous of a weak human pup?" he continued coolly.
Kagome's brow crinkled. She'd expected him to say something more along the lines of `jealous over a useless wench like you, unthinkable blah blah.'
But he hadn't.
"You are! You're jealous!" Kagome was stunned, and suddenly very angry. When had everything become so bizarre? She was actually pissed that he'd kissed her to prove some point, Neanderthal-style, instead of just kissing her because he wanted to.
She chose not to examine her reaction any further. That way, she was convinced, lay madness.
Sesshoumaru scowled. "As I have already said, you are mistaken."
Her brown eyes sparked at him, and his hands itched to drag her back into his lap for more point-proving.
Kagome's mouth fell open as his eyes lightened and he leaned towards her, despite the death-glare she was currently sending his way. She came to another epiphany.
"Gods! I can't believe you!" she continued in a low, angry voice. "You actually get turned on when I argue with you? You are completely and utterly insane!"
He gave in to the urge and pulled her against him again, tempted beyond bearing by her scent. "You do not seem to object," he pointed out as he settled her arms around his neck and tugged her close, aching to feel her body against his. He wished he didn't wear armor. It seemed as if anything even halfway pointed broke it anyway, and he was constantly replacing it. Right now, it was an almost unbearable obstruction.
She looked off to the side, guiltily. He was right, she didn't object, because this was. . . she didn't know what it was, but it didn't seem like she could stop herself.
He ran the pads of his fingers slowly over the pale skin of her face, studying her. She looked troubled for a moment, and then her eyes met his with equal desire. Her eyelids drifted down to lie like dark feathers on her cheek as she turned and pressed a kiss in his palm. Then, Kagome seemed to lose patience and leaned in for a kiss. Her tongue flicked hesitantly over his lips before he sucked it into the heat of his mouth with a low groan.
Kagome's hand pressed against the side of his neck, and she found that she loved the feel of his pulse against her fingers.
Sneaking under the hem of her knit shirt, his thumbs made slow circles on the silky skin of her stomach. An inarticulate sound escaped him when she ran her hands through his hair, and rubbed that spot behind his ear that made him melt. He was gratified to feel her shivering against him.
The bulky armor between them annoyed Kagome. She wanted to feel the warmth of his chest against her. Her lips pulled away from his and she made a quiet sound of irritation, shifting her weight on his thighs.
He quietly gasped as she pressed her lips to the side of his throat and lightly caressed the skin there with the tip of her tongue.
Damned armor, he thought again as she rubbed up against him, teeth raking against the base of his neck. Gods, he thought dimly through a red haze, she was right. He truly had gone insane, but the smell of her. . .
Aya, noticing the abrupt lull in the argument, made a big production of stomping loudly before entering the room. When she and Kazuo finally came in, after some noisy and unnecessary throat-clearing, their two guests were sitting six feet away from one another and looking with fascination at the walls of the hut.
Kagome appeared a little dazed.
The reputedly cruel and ruthless Lord of the Western Lands looked considerably less intimidating with part of his hair sticking up.
Kazuo smiled faintly as he sat down, holding a tray. "Tea, anyone?"
The only bad thing I can say about this scene is that it overuses the word "gods." So, to recap: good story hampered by the need to have half of it in the present (I couldn't care less, the past is way more interesting, and all it does is signal with great wordiness that there will be a Happily Ever After), occasional non sequitur phrasings, and slightly not-Kagome!Kagome.
But ultimately, the reason I can't recommend this fanfic is because it hasn't been updated in more than two years. I like endings, dammit.
So it is with fics. Oh, sure, I'll say that I am easily amused and you should just rec me anything...but it's just not true.
If I like canon, it usually follows that I like the characters paired up in canon. If, however, the subtext is too strong (Heero/Duo, for example) or the creator likes to mess with his/her audience (Joss Whedon, you make me ship incest!), then I blithely skip into the poppy fields with my fellow "it's not canon, but it's damn HOT" fans.
For Inuyasha, I like the canon, hence I stick mainly to canon pairings. And that probably explains why I cannot stand the Sesshoumaru/Kagome pairing. It grates on me like nothing else. I have no idea why it's so popular, and most of the fanfics I've read of it fantasti-sucked. But if you want to read good Sess/Kag stories, check these out:
- "Coyote Ugly" by Wheezambu
- "Amputee Smut" by Seaouryou
- "Mortality" by Sueric (OMFG, did I just rec a Sueric fic?!)
Alas, after fluffyfluffybun asked for Inuyasha fanfiction recommendations, and also mentioned that Sess/Kag gets a thumbs up from her, I got curious. Curiosity led to reading. Reading led to a broken brain. It's remarkably easy to make me malfunction. So what have I learned from all this reading? I still hate the Sesshoumaru/Kagome pairing.
In the normal scheme of events, your typical Sess/Kag story starts out with Inuyasha having sex with Kikyou. Kagome witnesses this and runs off in tears, only to be comforted by Sesshoumaru, who suddenly gives a damn about humans. In fact, he cares so much that he and Kagome have sex themselves! And everyone lives happily ever after.
The three fics I will review have...transcended?...this cliché. *shudders*
I eat my kidney beans before my mac and cheese, I rip my band-aids off, and I watched Buffy Season 6 in order to understand Buffy Season 7. Let's get the worst of the three fics over with first, shall we?
1. "Never Gonna Let You Go" by InuyashaPuppyDog
The parings listed for this fic are what drew me in. I saw that there was going to be Inuyasha/Kagome, and somehow thought that this would be the fanfiction equivalent of slowly wading into a lake to get acclimated to the cold water. My first clue that I should have run away screaming closed the tab? "Rated X for language, violence, rape later on."
I have a...thing about rape in Inuyasha fanfiction. Mainly because it's never, ever, ever handled well.
So Inuyasha accidentally wishes the well closed, trapping Kagome in the past forever. She's pissed as hell, initially, but the potential is there for lots of I/K squishy moments, until Kagome gets almost raped by a bunch of bandits. She's rescued by Kouga, who decides to take her back to the den and rape her in front of the entire wolf pack. (The rape in this story also includes the author raping in-character behavior.)
Inuyasha rescues her, but she's pregnant. Kagome decides to give birth to the wolf hanyou, and Inuyasha is very supportive, yadda yadda yadda. Then they have plagiarism sex.
Never Gonna Let You Go, Chapter 13
"You're mother willingly birthed and fed you."
"I know. And then she died when I was still quite young. When I tried to find food I was always attacked by villagers or demons. I once followed a dog demoness who was pregnant. She was a low ranking demoness ...she couldn't turn human ... but after her pups were born I tried to sneak my way in. Even she wouldn't accept me.", his voice lowered to a whisper.
Takeshi finished his meal and Kagome burped him. Falling asleep almost immediately, Kagome laid the pup in his basket to sleep and covered him with a light blanket. Turning around to face Inuyasha, she didn't bother to close her kimono, giving him an eyeful. He blushed and turned away,
"Inuyasha?", she said, sweetly, reaching out for his head and turning him to face her, "I would have fed you if I could."
As proof, she lowered his head until it was in front of her left nipple. Pulling him closer, she encouraged him to suckle. He timidly reached out his tongue and licked the perked up nipple. Pushing herself closer to him, he opened his mouth and took in what she offered. Wrapping his arms around her, he suckled deeply, taking in what their son had left behind. Kagome couldn't help but moan softly as she ran her fingers through Inuyasha's silver locks and played with his snowy ears.
[....]
He felt her tugging his hair gently and he came up to meet her face,
"That was fabulous.", she told him sweetly.
"I didn't know a woman could have a release too.", he told her.
"Yes we can."
Terri Botta, The Lucky Ones, Chapter 14
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking again.
"No one fed me. When my mother died, no one fed me. No one cared if I lived or died. My mother was a noblewoman but no one gave a damn that I was her son. I was just a filthy half-breed nobody wanted. I had no idea how to feed or take care of myself. I scrounged food from the kitchens and the garbage, eating whatever I could get my hands on. They'd chase me out when they caught me and beat me for `stealing.' I was filthy and starving, but nobody cared."
[....]
"There was an inu-youkai bitch with three pups on my brother's lands. I watched her for weeks, hoping that if she got used to my scent and I learned her ways, that maybe she'd accept me. That's how I know so much about pups. But she rejected me when I approached her, and my brother scruffed and cuffed me severely for even trying. I was sore for days from his beating, and I'll never forget what he told me that night. He said no youkai would want me because I was a lowly hanyou, tainted with human blood, and the dirt beneath a true youkai's feet. No one would ever accept me. That was when I understood my mother's tears that one time. Why she had cried for me. She had known what my life would be like, and she had wept for my sake."
[....]
There was a rustle of cloth and the sound of something falling to the ground, then Kagome's hands were on his head and shoulders, turning him to look at her. She'd taken off his haori and her shirt and bra, and her bare breasts were exposed to him, the nipples reddened from Yukio's earlier nursing. He blinked at her, confused and unsure of what she was doing.
"Kagome?"
She shook her head, her eyes still brimmed with tears, put one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his cheek, and pulled him towards her. Gently, she brought him to her breast and pressed his mouth to her nipple.
"I would have fed you. I would have…"
He let out a choked sound that might have been a whimper, and her hands tangled themselves in his hair, urging him to take what she offered. Opening his mouth, he let his lips surround the toughened nipple and began to lightly suck.
Kagome felt him start to nurse and put her arms around him as she let more tears fall down her cheeks. His sucking was so different from the infant's, his mouth gentle and his tongue softly licking. She knew she had only a very little bit of milk left, no more than a mouthful at the very most after Yukio finished nursing, but she didn't need milk to feed him. The very act of bringing him to her breast and letting him suckle was enough. Right now, she was feeding the abandoned orphan whom no one wanted, the little boy Inuyasha who had lost his mother and never known his father; the lonely, bereft child that still lived inside the adult hanyou and begged to be comforted.
[...]
She would remember his face after his first climax, the way his eyes rolled back and his jaw dropped open, and how he had cried out her name in the final moment. Then the look of shocked embarrassment when he learned that women could climax too, and that she had been left unsatisfied. She'd asked him to help her pleasure herself and he did her one better, insisting that her pleasure was his responsibility. He'd brought his mouth to the juncture of her thighs, and she discovered that his tongue was the most amazing thing in the world.
I quoted such long passages because there were little word-for-word stealing and more rewriting an entire scene of a highly recognizable fanfic.
The three of them live a happy life until Ginta and Hakkaku show up to take little Takeshi and raise him to be the next wolf youkai leader. Inuyasha takes off after them, and Kagome is lured to Sesshoumaru's palace by his mate, Kagura.
Sesshoumaru makes Kagome into a servant, a hanyou, and his sex slave. Meanwhile, Inuyasha gives up on his lost love and son and turns to Kikyou for comfort. Kagome gives birth to several of Sesshoumaru's children and eventually becomes Lady of the Western Lands.
Chapter 18:
Sesshoumaru climbed on top of her and began using his vine whip as a rope, tying her up with her arms behind her back. She felt the burn of the poison, but was surprised it didn't appear as strong as normal. Still partially asleep and in shock over what was happening, she never really fought back.
Sesshoumaru sliced through her clothes as easily as a hot knife through butter. There she was, naked, vulnerable, bound, and terrified of what he had in store for her. What he had in store for her was sheer terror. She watched in horror as he slipped out of his clothes and stood there naked before her. She started to cry and beg to be released and that only made matters worse.
Forcing open her mouth, he pushed his member inside her mouth and grabbed the back of her hair. Forcing himself deeper into her throat, she gagged and started to throw up. This only made him angrier,
"Pathetic human. No ...you're not human anymore. You're a hanyou. A pathetic hanyou.", he commented as he forced her to suck him.
Her mouth and jaw hurt from from the forcefulness and from his size. Just when she thought she would gag again, he removed himself and flipped her onto her knees. As she begged for him to stop, he pushed his entire hand inside her moist cunt. Fisting her roughly, she cried louder, her sobs filling the room. He then entered her from behind and shoved his cock deep inside her. As he was doing so, he shoved first two, three, then four fingers up her anus, making her scream louder in pain.
This continued throughout the night, with Sesshoumaru raping her numerous times. She lost count of the times he climaxed his seed onto her and started anew, his assault on her body. By morning, she would be freed and ordered to bathe. As she laid in the tub, her sobs started again and she cried out for Inuyasha to come and rescue her.
But he never did. As the months went by, the nightly rape only stopped when Sesshoumaru was out patrolling the lands, and even that didn't always bring and end to it. Sometimes, he still showed up, the pinkish bubble appearing in her room late at night. Her life became a routine of caring and playing with Rin during the day (and having to look like she wanted to be there, lest she upset Rin), and becoming Sesshoumaru's sex slave at night.
She quickly learned that disobedience would not be tolerated. Trying to fight back one night, Sesshoumaru ordered his demon guard up into her room. 10 of them. He ordered them to have their way with her while he watched her humiliation. All 10 took turns at her and then they didn't wait for turns. They decided to see how much she could take, as they stuffed every hole she had. When one would finish, another would take his place. And they weren't careful with their claws, as she found herself sliced and bloody. Her crying and pleading fell on deaf ears as Sesshoumaru merely watched and the demon guard laughed at her predicament.
After that humiliating night, she refused Sesshoumaru no more, instead allowing him to do what he wished to her. It was far better than been gang raped by a group of demons.
Chapter 20:
Sesshoumaru had grown kinder to Kagome, even beginning to call her Lady Kagome. Their relationship had become less of slave/master and more of a lovers relationship over the years. In spite all that he had done to her in the beginning, Kagome had begun to see a soft side to Sesshoumaru and her heart went out to him. She had even begun to look forward to his nightly visits and their lovemaking.
Chapter 26:
Kagome's life was full of happiness and hope. Although her mind would wander sometimes to the past and to Inuyasha, she found her current life fulfilling and desirable. Sesshoumaru had turned into an admirable mate and father and, with Kagome's guidance, an exceptional leader. Kgome truly loved him and, for the first time in her long life, had understood the dilemma that Inuyasha had always faced with her and Kikyou.
Because, really, who wouldn't fall in love with and marry their brutal rapist? Pardon me while I lose my lunch into this handy bucket.
Every character in the story is so hideously OOC that I felt horrified and yet fascinated by the depths this author could sink to. This rubbernecking caused me to read the rest of the fic, which doesn't improve. (How can it?) Kikyou pins Inuyasha to a tree again, for sneaking back to Kaede's village to see if Kagome has shown up yet. He lies in stasis until a now-adult Takeshi reunites with his now-hanyou mother, who pulls the arrow out. Which leads to this memorable exchange from Chapter 30:"I don't know his true intentions, at least, I'm not sure. Afterwards, he kept calling me a pathetic half-demon when he would force me to ..."
"He didn't? He forced you into mating him?", asked a shocked Inuyasha, "I didn't even think Sesshoumaru would stoop that low."
"But then he started becoming kinder, gentler,", she said, twisting her hands, "And he asked me to bear him pups and..."
"WHAT? Kagome, you didn't ...tell me you didn't!"
"Inuyasha! I did. I FELL IN LOVE WITH SESSHOUMARU!", she yelled.
Inuyasha stepped back, sweatdropped and left eye-twitching, "YOU WILLINGLY MATED WITH HIM?", he screamed.
"I knew it couldn't last.", said Shippou, with a sigh.
"YES I DID!", she screamed back.
"YOU BETRAYED ME!", screamed Inuyasha.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! HE TOLD ME YOU WERE!", she screamed back.
"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?"
"I HAD NO REASON TO DOUBT HIM!", Kagome screamed.
"JUST WHO HE IS WAS REASON TO DOUBT HIM!", screamed Inuyasha.
"And what about you? When you were looking for me ...did you ever think to ask him if he had seen me?", countered Kagome.
"I did!", he answered.
"And?", she queried.
"He told me he hadn't seen you!", said Inuyasha.
"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?", she screamed back.
"That's different.", he countered.
"WHY?", she asked, loudly.
"Because I know him better than you did. I could tell when he was lying!", Inuyasha spat out.
"OH YEA? Well, obviously you couldn't because he WAS lying. He was holding me captive back then!"
"Still ..Kagome ...you mated with him! Willingly!", said Inuyasha.
"And you? Where were you that you ended up getting yourself pinned to this tree again? With Kikyou?", she demanded to know.
"And what if I was?", he countered.
"Back then before you were pinned, I was trapped at Sesshoumaru's castle ...forced to be a slave to him. I didn't become his willing partner until after you were pinned to the tree. So you betrayed ME!", she yelled.
"I didn't know where you were. I was lonely. I thought I lost you. But, I didn't want to go to Hell with Kikyou and so I agreed to stay with her here in the land of the living ...", he said, trying to explain himself.
"And I was alone and thought you were dead. How is that different?", she said, the tears forming.
"It just is. I didn't have any kids with Kikyou. And Kikyou wasn't our arch enemy! Besides, how would Sesshoumaru know whether I was dead or pinned or what?", asked Inuyasha.
Ah, the Capslock of Irreconcilable Differences True Love. Despite their differences (such as they were spelled out) and fact that they are both horrid, reprehensible characters at this point, Kagome and Inuyasha reconcile. Takeshi and his original parents reconcile. And everybody live happily ever after--with Kagome acting as a baby machine once again! Because the only good Kagome is a fertile Kagome. Duh.
This fic has scarred me so much that I don't feel the need to point out all the spelling mistakes and grammatical annoyances. The story itself is so awful that it overwhelms my usually insatiable need to nitpick.
*shudders and rocks back and forth*
Unfortunately, we're not out of Rape Woods yet.
2. By The River of Shadowed Moments by quirkyslayer
This fanfic is so supremely disappointing on so many levels. The first is that I genuinely enjoy Quirkyslayer's fanfiction, and this is a piece of trash. The second is that I thought an author whose work I had read and liked before, and who frequently dabbles in the Sess/Kag pairing, would be able to bring me over to the dark side convince me that this is a good pairing, one worthy of not hating. The third is the frustratingly unacknowledged rapes which litter the story.
Sesshoumaru has condition which causes him to go into "heat" once a month and yes, it's a stupid plot device, but the author has an explanation. Searching for a woman to, ah, take care of his problem (because he can't just jerk off!), Sesshoumaru comes across Kagome and offers not to kill Inuyasha if she allows him to slake his lust. With such a tempting offer, how can a girl refuse?
I'm still convinced that their arrangement is rape.Chapter 1 (I bolded the most relevant parts):
She knew Sesshoumaru hated humans, and for the life of her she could never understood why he chose her. He could have just raped some woman and moved on. But ever since their first time, she had realized that he wasn't that sort of person. He was too noble and decent to rape someone, a fact that she had never known. She had assumed that since he was such a ruthless killer, the way he treated women was the same way.
It was untrue.
Unbeknownst to her, he was actually intrigued with her when he came upon her in the forest that fateful day. With a mixture of lust, familiarity, and precognition, he wanted her, and since their respective groups were always in the same region looking for Naraku’s whereabouts, she could be of use to him. Of course he didn't care about her, but it was rather that he knew her, and to take her would surely enrage his brother. In addition, his problem of trying to scramble and find some demon female would be solved. Although, of course, he had some scruples. He would never force her against her will.
So instead, he bribed her.
"I will promise to never attempt to kill Inuyasha or take Tetsusaiga again if you do this for me," he had said.
"For how long?" She had asked, stupefied at the request.
She thought that if she refused, he would kill her. She had to do this out of fear and for Inuyasha. He could kill Inuyasha or her at anytime; maybe this was something that she could do besides be an awkward miko-wannabe, though she felt a little dirty agreeing to such a thing.
I could be wrong, but bribes usually don't include the bribed person agreeing because they fear for their lives and the lives of their friends. That sounds more like a capitulating to a threat, or at least forced coercion. And just because a rapist forces their victim to agree to be raped does not, you know, negate the fact that the act being committed is rape.
And from the passage above, Kagome sounds like she's got a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome. Sesshoumaru is "too noble and decent to rape someone"? Oh, honey.Chapter 3:
"I'm so sorry, Inu-Yasha," she sobbed, feeling all her pain of the recent days of shame and rejection by her friends flowing through her. "I had no choice. He came to me, and I thought he'd kill me if I refused. When he offered the deal, I thought I would stop being useless to you, that I could do something for a change to protect you! I didn't care what it was! I wanted to do it for us! To protect us! I never thought he'd keep me..." her voice trailed off and she knew Inu-Yasha was listening closely. "I never thought he'd continue. I thought, since I was a human, he'd get bored with me and throw me aside. But..." she could feel Inu-Yasha shaking with fury and aguish in her arms. "... He never let me go...and I ...never let him go..."
And, of course, medieval men can't be expected to know that no means no."What the hell? Wha...What are you doing? I hate you!" she lashed at him, her body trying to squirm free of his needy grasp. Sesshoumaru gave her piercing look. His stoic mask did not waver once. He held her with such strength, and his eyes peered into her soul demanding submission. She became weak when she realized that portions of her body and mind desired this from him. She remembered herself realizing that he was the one person that made her into a woman. Her pelvis warmed to the thought of this. She stuttered in confusion and overwhelming emotions. "Don't you hate me too? You're the one who said..."
He cut her off as he pressed his lips on hers again. He muffled her cries of protest. Finally, she was subdued, kissing into him. Then she would randomly struggle, her senses telling her not to relive her sins again. The pitiful shamed glances her friends gave her flashed in her mind.
'No...'
"Get off! Let me go! I hate you!" She struggled in his grasp, her hands balling in fists. He said nothing. He shoved her to the ground again, and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her as her head made rough contact with the ground. She glared at him ferociously.
The more she struggled, the more he wanted her.
He let go of one of her arms to free his hand. She pounded on his face. He sliced off her clothes. She gasped, and then made a noise of violation.
"I don't want this!"
"Your body says otherwise!" he retorted, and then he let her go, but he straddled her with his weight immobilizing her. She became slack, but her eyes remained angry.
"You bastard," she huffed. Her bare chest heaved with adrenaline and chaotic emotions. She watched him sordidly, yet her body bucked under him in wanton lust. She felt contemptible. She would only enjoy this dirty play if she could fully blame him.
"I won't do it, no matter what my body is telling you. My shame runs deep enough!" she spat at him. He managed to delicately squirm free of his lower robes. He hovered over her, his hand stroking absently at her hair. And all through this, his face read no emotion. He was only doing what his body wanted him to do.
"You're ashamed that you're with me," he chuckled dangerously. "Oh, I too feel the shame as you do." He stuck a clawed finger inside her, and she gasped at the pleasurable intrusion. Her eyes looked upward to the starry sky as he licked the skin that wrapped thinly over her clavicle. "After all, you are a mere human."
"So...you're just going to have your way with me and kill me afterward, right?" she patronized him. "I'm only a stupid human. What use could I possibly be to you further after you get what you want from me?" She moaned as he dug his finger deeper within her core. Her legs wriggled around his arm. He could feel her wetness blanket his hand and wrist.
Then, feeling that she was wet enough, he shifted himself closer to her. She looked away as he entered inside her. She had a scowl of disinterest on her face. Her muscles would twinge sporadically as he began to shift inside her. She would will herself to not enjoy it. Maybe that way the sin wouldn't cut as deep.
He grabbed her chin and made her face him. She glared at him, and he became more intrigued when her lip rippled to reveal some of her teeth. He unexpectedly smirked.
He swiftly pulled out of her. She made a gasp of shock as his manhood imprinted a burn on her inner walls. She screamed softly as he grabbed her hair and then pulled her up with him. She stood gaining balance on her feet, and then with a strong surge of physical strength, she pushed him away from her. His grasp on her hair remained steadfast, and she was pushed along with him. Still, she felt victorious even if she only pushed him a few steps from his original stance.
He growled, his smirk remaining on his flawless face. He whipped her around, and slammed her body against a tree. She felt her skin scrape against the bark. She mewled in pain. He pushed his hand on her back, not letting her go. He reached down with his other hand and spread her legs. He lifted her hips and impaled himself within her. She screamed from the pain of the scratching of the bark and the rough ecstasy as he bore into her.
Her slick thighs rocked swiftly against his, and she felt his balls beat systematically against her in each one of his thrusts. She screamed, feeling the burning erotica that he rammed into her.
Despite the roughness, her body was becoming fulfilled. She wanted so badly to hate him. She snarled when he grabbed her breast and squeezed it to the brink of immeasurable pain. She said in a ragged breath. "You bastard, I hate you."
Okay, just because you come? Doesn't make this some kind of mutually agreed-upon hate sex. The body can do strange things in stressful circumstances. It's not unheard of for rape victims to orgasm while being raped, but that doesn't mean that they want to be violated. Kagome repeatedly verbally states that she doesn't want to have have sex with him. Kagome physically resists. That makes it rape.
Look, I don't have anything against non-consensual/reluctant sex in fanfiction. In fact, it's kind of one of my fanfiction kinks (sorry, that was probably TMI, wasn't it?). But there is a great deal of difference between non-consensual/reluctance and rape. The situation in this fic is rape, pure and simple, and it drives me crazy that it's not being labeled as such.Chapter 4:
"Don't!" she commanded, her eyes ablaze. Her voice was pleading, and he didn't like the sound of it. "Please, leave."
She was different than before. Her body did not swell with arousal for him, and yet the only emotion he could sense was fear and worry. He stopped in his tracked and studied her.
"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru," she sighed, still clutching herself to hide from him. She acted as if she had regained her innocence. "I may have been out of it, but I really meant what I said last time. I don't want it to happen again."
Her words rang with truth, but there was an exception laced within her intention.
Because that totally makes it okay! *gnashes teeth*
I feel (and this can definitely be argued) that Kagome is way OOC in this story. She doesn't scream for help when Sesshoumaru approaches her with his "bribe," she justifies having sex/being raped for barter, she lies to her friends, and she keeps lying to them after she comes clean. She cries all the time (which I suppose could be because of all the emotional turmoil she's going through) and I hate overused weepy!Kagome. Kagome is a strong character, people. The only times we see her cry is when something happens to Inuyasha, and it's usually an after-the-fact release kind of thing.
On the other hand, besides his sudden infatuation for Kagome, the only OOC thing about Sesshoumaru is that he has two arms. Quirkyslayer stated that this is an AU, but it's more like an AR or something. For me, AU usually means changing the setting entirely.
This fic is still ongoing, but I'm done with it.
3. This Mess We're In by volpa
I genuinely liked this fic. (Shocking!) And I'm not saying that just because there is a refreshing lack of rape in it.
The premise is that something happened in the past that Kagome doesn't remember. She's now back in her time, taking college classes and doing her normal routine. We get flashbacks to the past that slowly build up to whatever awful thing that happened which Kagome can't recall, starting with Inuyasha's abandonment of her.
This is a well-written fic, crafted with skill and care. It's humorous and tensely gripping by turns. The characters are believable, the situations are plausible, and the original characters are even endearing (if a bit over-the-top). I can see and understand why this Kagome and Sesshoumaru are going to fall for each other. And the sex scenes are hot.
That does not mean, however, that there are not problems with the story. The modern day stuff is boring and initially repetitive, and I ended up skimming through a lot of it. We all know where the story is going in that regard and I don't see the need to keep the focus on the present when nothing much happens, although the fight at the construction site and its aftermath were excellent.
Characterization, for the most part, is good. Inuyasha is not a jerk who runs off to Kikyou after Kagome shatters the jewel again. He worries after he can't find her, and ignores the now-alive Kikyou that joins the Inuyasha-tachi. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou get minor roles. Sesshoumaru has two arms again (what, is he not as desirable if he's lost an arm?) but his reactions to his unwanted attraction to Kagome make sense to me. He fights it and then when he gives in, he convinces himself it's what he's wanted all along. This feels very true to his characterization.
It's Kagome that feels slightly OOC for me. Fiery spirit, check. Argumentative in the face of certain death, check. Babbling like an idiot, ch...wait. What? It's not helped by the sometimes nonsensical narration that accompanies her words and actions. Leave writing like Terry Pratchett to Terry Pratchett, volpa.
An excerpt just to give you a taste of what the fic is like (from Chapter 7):"I can't believe you are being so rude! What exactly is your problem?" Kagome hissed at Sesshoumaru, whose hand still anchored her to his side.
Kazuo, steady as a rock, seemed to remember something. He stood and retired to another room, telling Aya that he'd forgotten about the tea. She immediately followed. Gods, she thought to herself. Clearly, those two were crazed. Perhaps it had been an error of judgment to invite them into her home, but it was too late now, she thought with a beleaguered sigh.
Sesshoumaru just glared at Kagome in response to her mutinous expression. If she lacked the discernment to see that the boy was a degenerate on her own, then he certainly was not going to tell her.
Kagome was fuming. What on earth was wrong with him?
"What is the matter with talking to Seiji? He seems perfectly nice, and he's friendly."
Nice? Friendly? These were supposed to be good qualities? The youkai stiffened with anger.
The woman beside him continued, oblivious to his incipient fulmination.
"I like him. He seems like a good guy." Sesshoumaru's glower only intensified as Kagome continued to speak. "And hasn't it occurred to you that I'm asking these people for a massive favor? It wouldn't kill you to be polite. Aya doesn't have to help me, you know. If she doesn't, I'll be stuck, and Naraku will probably kill me without even putting in a tiny bit of effort, and mmmmnrph-"
The long speech that Kagome had planned on the value of good manners was greatly impeded by the fact that Sesshoumaru had suddenly hauled her into his lap and kissed her. The firm, hungry pressure of his mouth, and the way his hands were caressing her sides caused her brain to take a brief vacation and her body to take over the reins. He parted her lips with his, and slowly stroked his tongue into her mouth as her hands fisted in his hair. When she started to reciprocate, he pulled away and replaced her on the floor next to him with a thud.
Kagome looked up at him in confusion, only to see a smug glint in his amber eyes. He looked like he'd just proved some kind of point.
Her eyes widened. Why, of all the childish. . .
"Oh gods," she whispered in shock, "you're jealous!"
"I have no idea what you are speaking of," he replied in a tone that would be better suited to ordering office supplies over the phone. She felt a surge of irritation. "Why would I be jealous of a weak human pup?" he continued coolly.
Kagome's brow crinkled. She'd expected him to say something more along the lines of `jealous over a useless wench like you, unthinkable blah blah.'
But he hadn't.
"You are! You're jealous!" Kagome was stunned, and suddenly very angry. When had everything become so bizarre? She was actually pissed that he'd kissed her to prove some point, Neanderthal-style, instead of just kissing her because he wanted to.
She chose not to examine her reaction any further. That way, she was convinced, lay madness.
Sesshoumaru scowled. "As I have already said, you are mistaken."
Her brown eyes sparked at him, and his hands itched to drag her back into his lap for more point-proving.
Kagome's mouth fell open as his eyes lightened and he leaned towards her, despite the death-glare she was currently sending his way. She came to another epiphany.
"Gods! I can't believe you!" she continued in a low, angry voice. "You actually get turned on when I argue with you? You are completely and utterly insane!"
He gave in to the urge and pulled her against him again, tempted beyond bearing by her scent. "You do not seem to object," he pointed out as he settled her arms around his neck and tugged her close, aching to feel her body against his. He wished he didn't wear armor. It seemed as if anything even halfway pointed broke it anyway, and he was constantly replacing it. Right now, it was an almost unbearable obstruction.
She looked off to the side, guiltily. He was right, she didn't object, because this was. . . she didn't know what it was, but it didn't seem like she could stop herself.
He ran the pads of his fingers slowly over the pale skin of her face, studying her. She looked troubled for a moment, and then her eyes met his with equal desire. Her eyelids drifted down to lie like dark feathers on her cheek as she turned and pressed a kiss in his palm. Then, Kagome seemed to lose patience and leaned in for a kiss. Her tongue flicked hesitantly over his lips before he sucked it into the heat of his mouth with a low groan.
Kagome's hand pressed against the side of his neck, and she found that she loved the feel of his pulse against her fingers.
Sneaking under the hem of her knit shirt, his thumbs made slow circles on the silky skin of her stomach. An inarticulate sound escaped him when she ran her hands through his hair, and rubbed that spot behind his ear that made him melt. He was gratified to feel her shivering against him.
The bulky armor between them annoyed Kagome. She wanted to feel the warmth of his chest against her. Her lips pulled away from his and she made a quiet sound of irritation, shifting her weight on his thighs.
He quietly gasped as she pressed her lips to the side of his throat and lightly caressed the skin there with the tip of her tongue.
Damned armor, he thought again as she rubbed up against him, teeth raking against the base of his neck. Gods, he thought dimly through a red haze, she was right. He truly had gone insane, but the smell of her. . .
Aya, noticing the abrupt lull in the argument, made a big production of stomping loudly before entering the room. When she and Kazuo finally came in, after some noisy and unnecessary throat-clearing, their two guests were sitting six feet away from one another and looking with fascination at the walls of the hut.
Kagome appeared a little dazed.
The reputedly cruel and ruthless Lord of the Western Lands looked considerably less intimidating with part of his hair sticking up.
Kazuo smiled faintly as he sat down, holding a tray. "Tea, anyone?"
The only bad thing I can say about this scene is that it overuses the word "gods." So, to recap: good story hampered by the need to have half of it in the present (I couldn't care less, the past is way more interesting, and all it does is signal with great wordiness that there will be a Happily Ever After), occasional non sequitur phrasings, and slightly not-Kagome!Kagome.
But ultimately, the reason I can't recommend this fanfic is because it hasn't been updated in more than two years. I like endings, dammit.