Instincts By Hikari Hime [one shot # 07]
Title: Instincts
Author: Hikari Hime
Theme: Oneshot contest on LJ 'dokuga_contest' community; prompt #07: Malfunction
Genre: Drama, Angst
Universe: Canon Universe
Rating: T
Warnings: somewhat suggestive topics of discussion
Word Count: 1265
N/A: Eighth installment of 'Cravings'... just because the word limit of the 'weekly perfection contest' got me frustrated... and the prompt was perfect XD
Thank you so much LuxKen27 for your help with my traitorous muses and language discrepancies!
Dawn found Kagome sleeping under the gentle shade of Goshinboku, a squirrel sniffing curiously at her from her knee. Exhausted and still in shock, the young woman hadn't found the strength to venture back to the village after having tended to her wounds.
Her cuts were shallow, and would heal fast, but were far from invisible. Kagome just didn't want to deal with the questioning gazes of the others right now.
All she wanted to do was crawl into a small hole and disappear.
She didn't want to be the heroine anymore. She didn't want to save the world. She didn't want to suffer. Most of all, she wanted to snuggle into a warm sofa and eat chocolate, possibly until her stomach burst open, watching romance films while emptying endless boxes of kleenex.
She just wanted to be a teenage girl again.
Why was it that everybody else had their happily-ever-after, except her? Was she cursed or something?
Snorting angrily at herself, the young miko stopped wallowing in self-pity and cracked open one red-rimmed sapphire orb, squinting slightly at the brightness of the morning sun.
And then she froze.
Still perched on her leg, the little furry beast 'twiggled' his nose in her direction, clearly asking if she was disturbed that a normally easily-spooked animal was currently resting on her knee-cap. Tiny, black, beady eyes shone with mirth at the human's obvious bewilderment. His copper tail twitched, once, and then a second time, before the diminutive fluff ball climbed up her body and escaped into the old tree above.
Kagome released the breath she had been holding during this... interesting... experience, and she was preparing herself to rise and be on her way when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Recognising this particular aura, she sat still and waited.
He was not alone.
Rin was with him, walking silently three steps behind him, but the miko suspected she was the one bringing the silent youkai to her.
Or... coaxing him into approaching.
She was about to stand up when he lifted one elegant, pale hand, indicating she should stay where she was.
Surprising both females, Sesshomaru lowered himself gracefully in a perfect lotus position a respectful distance from Kagome. He nodded in greetings to her, his face devoid of any apparent emotion.
Rin knelt beside him and began to speak softly. ''We came to see if you were all right, Kagome-sama.''
''I'm fine, thank you,'' the young woman replied tonelessly. She was not about to share anything that had transpired with this child: she was still young, innocent. She didn't need to carry the burden of another.
A discreet, derisive snort came from the general direction of the daiyoukai. Kagome could have sworn it had come from him… but such an action was just too... 'unlordly' for him.
''Kagome-sama,'' Rin frowned, ''it is obvious that you are not feeling well. Tell me what happened… I have seen much worse.''
Funny, how little Rin sounded like her Lord from time to time…even more while scolding someone. It was the miko's turn to feel like a small child.
She bowed her head slightly in shame. ''Inuyasha... sometimes, he loses control,'' she began hesitantly. ''I don't understand, something must be wrong with him.''
She looked at Sesshomaru worriedly, ''This shouldn't happen, right? It's not as if his life was in danger or anything! But when... when it happens... he goes all youkai on me, with red eyes and blue stripes and everything!'' She took a small, shuddering breath, but forged on. ''Is it possible that the Tessaiga is damaged? Or could it unexpectedly malfunction or something? Is Inuyasha ill? Is he possessed…or cursed?''
''Miko,'' he interrupted her, feeling slightly uncomfortable when tears started to gather at the rim of her eyes, ''tell this Sesshomaru about the exact circumstances surrounding these... lapses... in his already ineffective control.''
The young woman's cheeks turned beet-red. ''It's kind of private, Sesshomaru...'' she started, only to be interrupted again, this time by Rin.
''Sesshomaru-sama already suspects he knows the root of your problem, but he needs more information,'' she chided. ''If you really want his help, that is.''
When did she grown up so much? Kagome thought in a daze, but she snapped quickly back to attention under the smoldering glare of the impatient youkai Lord.
''Well, you know we can't... have children of our own. So, I didn't want to get pregnant, but there's nothing to prevent it with certainty. So, I have to... stop him…from...'' She snapped her mouth shut, hiding her face beneath her small hands, shuddering in mortification.
''Each time he approaches you, you refuse him?'' Sesshomaru asked casually, as if he was inquiring about the weather.
''I explained to him that we could have... other activities... oh damn, I just can't talk to you about our sex life, for Kami's sake!'' she nearly screamed, exhaustion smothering the voice of reason which told her such impudence could well earn her death in the presence of this being.
''Indeed,'' he drawled, cold golden orbs shining with barely restrained mirth He didn’t seem offended so much as amused at her embarrassment.
''I think the situation is quite clear anyway,'' Rin surmised. ''You are not... neglecting your husband in any way. You are just protecting yourself from bearing a pup.''
A pup?
''A pup?'' Kagome asked aloud. She shook her head. ''Well…you’re right. It's not that I refuse his touch, it's more like... he doesn't want to do anything if it's not... complete. He says it's pointless.''
Rin gritted her teeth, her jaw tense and her fists clenched, knuckles white under the pressure. Sesshomaru stayed unreadable, but his aura blanketed the two obviously distressed females, calming them unconsciously.
''Youkai,'' the inuyoukai started in a bored tone, ''feel the instinctual need to reproduce like any other living being. When Inuyasha's bitch refuses to assuage such a need, his youkai blood is left in great turmoil. If his human emotional side was not so unstable, the hanyo would be able to control it. Nevertheless, it is not surprising that he has been experiencing problems as of late.''
His bitch?
''I am not a bitch,'' Kagome nearly growled, making Rin flinch.
''Of that I am certain, Miko. However, stating the obvious will not help you in any way.''
If it had been another person... man... youkai... whatever... she could have sworn he shrugged.
''Then what will?!'' Her patience was growing thin and her agitation was beginning to show in her own aura, wisps of barely restrained purity making the fine hair of his neck stand on end.
''There is nothing you can do to stop it, Kagome. Inuyasha will always be Inuyasha.'' His features had softened somehow. As if he wanted nothing but to help her.
As if he cared.
Without a word, he straightened himself in a flurry of white fur and silk, repositioning his swords with a quick flick of his wrist. He started to walk towards the trees when the quiet voice of the miko reached his ears one last time, her gratitude brought to him on a soft breeze.
An unspoken truth hung in the air between youkai and miko that morning, a truth the woman didn't want to acknowledge, a sentence the powerful male didn't want to bring down upon her already frail shoulders.
But in her heart she knew that, if what Sesshoumaru had told her was true, she wouldn’t be able to stop it unless she left him.
.