The rest of the mating season flew by like the best holydays imaginable. There was no rush to do anything, no looming dread, no reasons to worry. Kagome was finally free to rest and relax, which she did with a great relish, spending hours at a time sometimes just taking sunbaths on the lakeshore and daydreaming. Most of such daydreams were of quite dirty content, but that was inescapable. Kagome's body was constantly in aroused state, no matter what she was doing, and while somewhat disconcerting and very, very distracting at first, she soon got used to it.

There was no way to sate her sexual appetite, after all, even if she tried to – and she did, of course. In her current company it was completely inevitable. While Sesshomaru either possessed a truly iron will, or enough experience with his body to control his urges (when he wanted to), Kagome couldn't spend too much time in his presence without jumping him (and in some cases, like at the day of her first transformation, quite literally). Not that Sesshomaru himself was less affected by heat – Kagome could smell his constant arousal in the air too, if she assumed her youkai form. Sesshomaru just was much better in ignoring it, though he never refused Kagome's advances, taking his pleasure in teaching her some more advanced lovemaking techniques. Kagome could've summarized most of them in four words: "tongues are the best".

That perky lack of self-control on Kagome's side hindered greatly any possible joint activity with Sesshomaru except for sex, including sleep in the same den – because youkai stamina, be that Sesshomaru's or Kagome's, allowed them to easily ignore latter for the former for very long periods of time. It wasn't the worst way to spent two weeks, but both of them agreed that there were also other things to do, be that housework, hunting for food or preparing for their eventual leave from the den.

Kagome also took her time exploring the capabilities of her dog form and of her control over the energies within her body. While the first time was painful, after that shapeshifting came to Kagome as easy as taking a deep breath, and she spent much time in her youkai form just for its sensory faculties and fast legs.

She also repeated her old training exercises for reiki control, both in her human and dog forms, and was only pleased with the results – they came to her as easy as they did when she was just a priestess. She could also direct her youki, but it didn't have the same properties as reiki did, and Kagome couldn't do anything really meaningful with it without some guidance or more time – at most, she had managed so summon clouds of miasma, which while destructive, weren't her goal. In comparison to reiki, youki felt more solid and physical to Kagome, and while reiki always needed to be infused into something to have impact on non-spiritual things, youki at all times tried to assume more solid shapes on its own.

Together with the exploration of her powers came another problem – Kagome didn't had convenient clothes to wear for travel or training. Her human-made ones tore apart when she transformed, and youkai-made ones that Sesshomaru had given her singed and scorched every time she used too much reiki or did it too close to her own skin. It was an inconvenience – to disrobe each time she wanted to shift her forms back and forth.

Additionally, as a part of her preparations for future travel, Kagome spent time cleaning up her haven-gourd. It was in real need of spring-cleaning and some repairs if she was going to use later, as she was planning to. Sesshomaru had snorted at her efforts, claiming that things like that gourd were only tying a person down, but he had nothing on her.

"Well, if you don't want to, you might not use it," Kagome had replied then, putting her hands on her hips, "but if I have an opportunity to have all comforts of civilization whenever and wherever I want, I am going to take it, Sesshomaru! Even if I will survive without them. You don't need to be so ascetic too, you know? And you are always welcomed to use the gourd if you wish."

The lack of an honorific was a new thing. It just flew away on its own somehow, and just as Sesshomaru never asked Kagome to use or not use it at first, he never did now. It just seemed somewhat inappropriate from Kagome's standpoint to keep up with honorifics when the two of them were on too equal ground for '-sama' and too close for '-san'. And Kagome wasn't going to repeat after Tsume with the '-kun', no way. That was a mother's privilege.

The closeness naturally came from the time Kagome and Sesshomaru had spent together. The equal ground, though, was more complicated. It wasn't something new – it was just something that Kagome only now had a chance to truly realize. She was always happy to follow after Sesshomaru whenever he would lead her. Part of it came from her feeling of debt towards him, but another, much heavier one, came from trust. She trusted him to take care of her when she was unable to, just like he did before, and not lead her astray. That, sometimes, included small things. The haven-gourd, for example. Sesshomaru clearly disliked the item, but didn't actually oppose Kagome in using it. He didn't help with cleaning it too, though – but that was to be expected.

Finally, one morning two weeks later Kagome woke up with muddled remnants of yet another explicit dream in her mind and a body that was blissfully devoid from the strong and persistent need to have sex with someone right there and then. Her heat ended, and that meant that she was now actually able to think clearly and be productive again – a realization that made Kagome sigh in relief. First time in more than half of a year she was actually feeling just normal, and what a reason to smile and laugh it was.

Kagome knew that yesterday evening, after a goodnight round of sex, Sesshomaru had flew away to sleep somewhere in a distance from the den. Because of that she wasn't surprised to not see him around when she rose up to clean herself up and drink a cup of tea. Her kitchen lately felt into a bit of disuse; her completely inhuman, according to Sesshomaru's words, body didn't required any human food for nourishment, and being in heat, she just hunted her youkai from time to time, not bothering with actual cooking besides finishing her stashes of dried fruits and nuts for a snack.

When she had finished with her tea, cleaning Ah-Un's corral and putting him on a leash outside of the den so he could graze on fresh grass near the lakeshore, Sesshomaru still wasn't around. Wondering if he was still asleep, or if he was busy with something else, Kagome shed her comfortable indoor yukata and set off to sniff him out.

He wasn't far away or actually hiding – Kagome could feel his smell on the wind, clean, fresh and without a trace of arousal in it, as soon as she shapeshifted. She followed it up the river, until she reached a hilltop where Sesshomaru sat under an old, lone tree, staring somewhere into horizon with a distinct air of melancholy around him.

It was most unusual. From her position downwind Kagome couldn't see Sesshomaru's face fully thanks to the silver hair that curtained it, and so couldn't confirm anything, but his posture and aura seemed sad somehow. Not knowing what to do, but wishing to comfort him nonetheless, Kagome quietly walked up to him.

"Even trees grow old and die," Sesshomaru spoke musingly when she laid down and put her snout near his side, close enough to almost touch, "yet our desire to live will not let us do the same. Do you have many friends amongst humans, Kagome?"

"Besides Spring Child - not really. My apprentice, I mean," she admitted, closing her eyes and relaxing. Her position didn't give her a good view of Sesshomaru anyway, but she still could smell and hear him perfectly. She knew from Tsume's lessons that dog youkai could tell even a person's general mood from their smell, but Kagome wasn't experienced enough to say what the small changes in Sesshomaru's scent meant, "Other teens mostly kept clear of me because of how powerful I was told to be. There were a few girls who became my friends anyway and one boy who had always tried to spend more time with me, but I hadn't seen any of them for years. They had probably moved on with their lives long time ago. Why do you ask?"

Kagome wondered if that was relevant to the reason of Sesshomaru's sadness. He didn't answer quickly, but she was ready to wait for the reply as long as it took. There was nowhere to hurry anymore - she could've happily spent a whole day just lying near Sesshomaru, drinking in smells of plains, forests and the river. It was easy to drown in her enhanced senses when Kagome wanted to.

"Had you decided on this Sesshomaru's offer?" he finally asked, changing topics instead of giving her an answer. It was, just like the melancholy mood, also unlike him, and Kagome was worried and curious.

"I would've wanted to stay with you even if you didn't ask, maybe as a servant if you need one," she replied honestly. It wasn't a time to tease and joke, "I owe you my life. But I would've done the same even if I didn't. You are worth following after."

The answer seemed to please Sesshomaru a little, and yet, a silence stretched for a long time again before his next response broke it.

"The first hundred years are the longest. Enjoy them. After that, seasons start to fly by," he had said cryptically, "and humans will perish too quickly to even bother remember their names."

It took Kagome a moment to realize that Sesshomaru had again returned to their previous discussion topic. She opened her eyes, frowning. What he was talking about? It all sounded like a jumbled nonsense. Then, as she was still trying to make sense of it, Sesshomaru turned his face to her, and Kagome could see exasperation in his eyes.

"You don't have any mortal flesh to grow old and wither anymore, Kagome," he stated and turned back with a humorless chuckle, "So oblivious again."

It had finally clicked in Kagome's mind - a major detail that she had missed before (even if for a respectful reason), always assuming that despite having a youkai form she was still a human in her lifespan. The idea of opposite was actually too great to envision – Kagome could barely imagine spending a few decades of life, and youkai lived for centuries. It all was so far away from her now – it was much more important to enjoy every day as it lasted. But was this why Sesshomaru was in such mood this morning?

"But that's good, isn't it?" Kagome asked carefully.

"When your friends will grow old and die, you will be of different opinion," Sesshomaru said. His voice was a monotone, but Kagome didn't need to see his face to know that there were strong emotions simmering within his soul.

'Did he have human friends before? He grew in a palace of a daimyo after all, there were probably tons of humans around. But that was centuries ago… Was Sesshomaru reminiscing?' Kagome thought. It brought a profound sadness to her – a deep, acute ache in her chest – to know that there probably was time when Sesshomaru might have had actual friends – and that they all were most probably long dead. Suddenly, Kagome's dog form was not enough to express all of the support she wanted to lend Sesshomaru at this moment and, ignoring her naked state under all that fur, she shifted back to her human state.

The world around became dull, but her emotions run sharp as ever. She hugged Sesshomaru from behind, putting her head on his shoulder, and in turn he raised his hand, carefully capturing a tear that had dropped from Kagome's eye with his claw.

"Why are you crying, Kagome?" he asked, "Do you mourn them already?"

"No," she replied, "I am sad for you, Sesshomaru. My friends are still alive, but yours… You did have friends once, right?"

"Once," Sesshomaru confirmed, "But there are no reasons to have such feelings now."

"Well, but I will!" Kagome disagreed childishly and hugged Sesshomaru tighter. He actually didn't protest this physical contact, just like its sudden increase, instead just speaking like nothing happened.

"Foolish," he was his reply, but there was some actual mirth in it, and Kagome felt relieved, "Are you ready to depart?"

"Huh? Where?" she asked and finally reluctantly left his side. Without her clothes the wind of early spring was a bit too chilly for her liking.

"Friends you wished to visit," Sesshomaru replied nonchalantly, rising up.

They had left at the same day – there really wasn't much for Kagome to gather – and took the journey on human feet. It was a much longer one then if they flew or even run in their dog forms, but again, there was no rush, and the route was a most scenic one.

Their company of three – Sesshomaru, Kagome and Ah-Un - had travelled for a week along seashore, slowly moving east towards Kyoto. Sesshomaru and Kagome made for a strange couple amongst other travelers – a mononoke and a woman in men's clothes, with a bow on her back and a sword on her hip, and that without accounting for a two-headed hatchling that woman was carrying in her hands. The sight made for bad meetings with strangers on a road, but Kagome couldn't help it.

It made little sense for her to wear priestess's garb now, but pants were just too convenient in travel to dismiss altogether. And Kagome surely wasn't going to travel weaponless – roads were dangerous! Even if, admittedly, most dangerous thing around was the youkai near her. The last time they had travelled Sesshomaru chose less populated routes, but now they had met quite a lot of humans, most of which were rightfully fearful of him. Some, though, were not. And that meeting had ended very unfortunately for those people.

Admittedly, those people were brigands who thought to rob Sesshomaru out of his possessions – there was only one way for someone like him to react on that. It didn't change the fact that Sesshomaru seemed to not value human life more than that of a passing fly. That made Kagome afraid that one day there will be a moment when someone with more importance would become a victim of Sesshomaru's claws, whether the reason for that was a good one or not. And angry, because one of those brigands was just a fearful young boy, most probably forced to became a bandit by famine or other bandits, but his throat was sliced with the poison whip just the same.

She put Ah-Un, who had curled into a fearful ball, on the ground, and walked through the mess of dead bodies to the one that brought her such distress. Kagome's hands were clenched into tight fists and she could feel telltale sting of tears in her eyes as she sat near the boy's body.

"Don't you have any mercy in you, Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked in shaken voice as she had closed his eyelids, "Didn't you saw that other guy pushing him towards you? He didn't want to fight! Maybe he could've still become a farmer somewhere if you didn't kill him!"

"He would've died in a few decades anyway, only for two more humans to take his place. Why should this Sesshomaru care?" he replied casually. His attitude made Kagome even angrier.

"Every life matters, no matter how short or long! His, mine, and yours too, Sesshomaru! I can understand killing in self-defense, but you are so much stronger than any human – you could've easily spared his life!" Kagome was shouting then, and Ah-Un, now scared even more, sought shelter behind Sesshomaru's legs.

"And what for the other brigands?" Sesshomaru asked her with narrowed brows, "Do they also deserve their lives?"

Kagome's shoulders slumped. She hated dilemmas like this one. If it was in her power, everyone would've been able to live and let live. Sadly, reality was far from being so nice. Death of her father was a real reminder of why not everyone should be allowed to roam around freely.

"No," she admitted with a sigh, "Ideally, they should've been brought to the law, but the punishment for robbing on a road is a death sentence anyway. But law is not always right! It would've sentenced this boy to the death too, and I still believe that you should've let him live, Sesshomaru!"

"No one tells this Sesshomaru what he should or shouldn't do, including you," he bristled immediately. Kagome cringed – that hadn't been her best verbal move – but still squared her shoulders and glowered back at the youkai. She had no intentions of going to back off from this. And it wasn't just because she had been a human once too.

"Well, then think about it for yourself, Sesshomaru! Forty, fifty years may look short for you, but for them it's their whole life – a really long time!" Kagome argued, "It's just wrong to not bother to not kill someone only because you don't see it like they do. If everyone thought like that, world would've been in complete chaos! Shouldn't a person who realizes it strive to be better than that? Not to be so… dismissing and cruel. And if he was your friend," she added more quietly, "wouldn't you want him to live as long as he could?"

For a while, Sesshomaru just stared down at Kagome with his best deadly glare, which she tried her best to counter with her own one. The staring contest lasted so long, that Kagome's eyes had completely dried out, but she didn't dare to blink.

"You preach about right and wrong, but what makes those ideas of yours better than anyone else's? If you truly wish to fight for your beliefs then challenge this Sesshomaru for them," he said in steely voice and put a hand on hilt of Tenseiga. The movement caught Kagome's eye, and she furrowed her brows in determination when she had realized what it meant. 'A resurrecting sword…'

"Then I, Higurashi Kagome, challenge you, Sesshomaru of the dogs, to the challenge of… of…" Kagome stumbled, gathering her ideas. It needed to be something where she could actually win, but not something he would just refuse. And considering the centuries of experiences behind Sesshomaru's shoulders, he was probably better than Kagome in lots of things. Thankfully, the youkai waited patiently for her to come up with an idea, "…of power! We will fight until opponent surrenders or is incapacitated."

Sesshomaru seemed to be a bit surprised, but then his lips spread in malicious grin. Kagome could understand it – at the first glance, that didn't seem to be an area of expertise where she was better than Sesshomaru, but after some rushed thinking she decided that she had actually decent chances. Kagome might not have Sesshomaru's finesse, but if she transformed, then it would be irrelevant, and she still would be able to use her reiki to pack a punch that even Sesshomaru will feel.

"This Sesshomaru accepts the challenge," he declared, raising his clawed hand.

"Wait! We shouldn't fight right on the road!" Kagome interrupted him before he decided to start the battle immediately, "Let's walk away somewhere first."

They had relocated to a secluded enough valley nearby. Kagome had put Ah-Un into the haven-gourd for his safety; Sesshomaru had brought the corpse of the young brigand. Now it was laying carelessly a few dozen of steps away like some kind of morbid ante in their contest, together with a pile of Kagome's clothes and her weapons.

She felt a bit awkward standing across Sesshomaru completely naked, but that didn't last for long. With no one around to judge their match, it started as soon as both of them had confirmed their readiness, and right after that Kagome shifted her inner energies, transforming together into a giant dog.

She roared in battle cry, and immediately tried to crush Sesshomaru in her maw. He still was in his human form, and dodged easily, snapping at her snout with his poison whip in a process, but Kagome just shrugged the attack off with a protective sheen of reiki on her fur. He was going to bring heavier weapons if he was going to actually hurt her, and Sesshomaru seemed to realize that too as he flied towards her with his bare claws.

Fighting him in this form was like trying to squash a particularly fast and agile fly, which could also pack a disproportionally strong punch. But Kagome knew that if she shifted back, she would lose instantly without boons of enhanced speed and strength that the dog form possessed, so she just tried her best. She stomped on Sesshomaru with her paws, snapped with her jaws, and blasted him with reiki if he stayed near her for too long, at the same time not letting him close to any of her vulnerable points.

Finally, it seemed that Sesshomaru had finally lost his patience, or maybe just realized that he wasn't going to win like that, and transformed as well. Not being above a dirty trick, Kagome used a moment of his metamorphose to pounce on him, landing atop of him just as his youki stabilized in new shape, trying to pin his neck with her teeth and burn him into submission with her purifying aura.

In return, Sesshomaru mauled her ear, making Kagome cry out in sudden sharp pain and jump off him, giving Sesshomaru enough time to stand up. There was blood on his teeth, and blood flew down her mane.

"Had you just bit off my ear?" Kagome growled, as the as the two of them circled around each other, waiting for a moment to strike.

"Is that bothers you?" Sesshomaru replied. His long tongue passed over his lips and teeth, licking the leftover blood from them. Kagome snarled in response, wishing it was her who drew the first blood.

She felt exhilarated. Her heart beat fast and her blood rushed in her veins, calling for battle. Her instincts called for her to shed Sesshomaru's blood, to retaliate for the wound, no matter how superficial, but Kagome tried to keep herself in hand. It was not a play-fight, a life of a person was at stake, and Kagome was going to try her best to save it – it was not the time to be too emotional.

Finally, Sesshomaru charged forward, trying to get a hit with his claws. She dodged the maneuver, and used the opportunity to bite into his side in return, but all she got in her mouth were loads of his fur. Still, Kagome took an opportunity to singe it with her reiki, leaving a big bald spot when Sesshomaru pushed her away from him again. This time, it was Kagome who charged forward, shining with reiki like a pink star. It was her great advantage right now, and she was going to use it. The fact that Sesshomaru needed to come closer to attack her also played on her side.

He seemed to understand it, because instead of trying to brawl Kagome into the ground, he fluttered around her like a butterfly and stung like a wasp, attacking only when he saw an opportunity for a sure strike. And while each one of them cost him one more reiki burn, they did a great deal of damage to Kagome too – she herself now, besides the lost ear, had few nasty bites on her torso and ankles, and probably a broken rib. At the same time, Kagome was trying to pin him down again if only for a moment, but at most succeeded in adding a few scratches to the list of Sesshomaru's battle wounds.

Was she losing? Kagome wasn't able to tell if Sesshomaru was wounded more or less than her. Most of the burns he got were concentrated at his mouth, and she couldn't really see much of what was going in there. Her most important clue was the fact that at some point Sesshomaru stopped with the biting altogether and only used his claws for attacking instead. But her ribs were probably a more serious problem.

It was not an injury that allowed for a prolonged fight, and Kagome decided that her last chance was in putting everything into one last attack, strong and all-encompassing enough that even Sesshomaru wouldn't be able to dodge it until she will get him. With that plan in mind, she roared, letting most of the leftovers of her reiki out in one wide blast, flooding the valley with her holy powers to the brim.

It shined bright, making Sesshomaru close his eyes as he braced himself for inevitable impact. As it hit him, Kagome could smell the foul stench of burned fur again, and while Sesshomaru's youki was too strong for him to disintegrate on the spot, especially from an attack so unfocused, he did few steps back, shaking his head in a daze.

Kagome used this moment of distraction to pounce on him, making Sesshomaru let out a roar of pain as her paws landed on already burned spots. He retaliated, turning on his back and crushing Kagome under her weight, but she didn't let go, instead grabbing with her paws, snapping her jaws on Sesshomaru's shoulder and ignoring the pain in her wounds. Her whole body still glowed with reiki, and she could taste burning flesh in her mouth. It was probably torturous for him, and for a moment Kagome felt a sting in her own chest, completely unrelated to her broken bone, until the call of blood in her veins didn't sent it away. It was an honest fight, after all.

Sesshomaru trashed around, trying to shake Kagome down, but she held on and on, ignoring her aches and stings with a great expertise, only adding more reiki to her jaws in an attempt to wear Sesshomaru down. He seemed to be in a great pain indeed, one that was too much for him to be able to transform to his human form to escape Kagome's clutches. Despite her pain, she felt exhilarated - she was winning now, slowly, barely, but surely - and after what seemed like forever, Sesshomaru had finally fell to the ground, whining his surrender and stopping any resistance.

Immediately, Kagome unclasped her jaws, letting out a whoop of joy. She had won! Against Sesshomaru! And had saved a life! Oh, there was no taste sweeter than that of a victory with the tart souse of Sesshomaru's blood sprinkled atop of it. A grumble from Sesshomaru's side reminded her that she was still grabbing on him, and she hurried to step aside and shift back into her human form just as Sesshomaru did the same.

Looking at him, Kagome couldn't help but chuckle. Usually pristine youkai now looked like a charred mess. She was, though, not much better. After all, contrary to him, she didn't even have any clothes, and only thing that could cover her from passing eyes was blood that was splattered on her skin. Wobbling slightly on her feet, Kagome came up to Sesshomaru. He had also stood up already and was now looking over her with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I won," she grinned from ear to the lack of one. It was a small price for a life saved, though, even if it won't grow back later, "So in your logic that means that I am right!"

"Indeed," Sesshomaru snorted. He didn't seem to feel really bad about his losing, especially in comparison to his earlier loss to Touran.

They both walked up towards the bandit boy's corpse slowly – it was purposefully untouched by the destructive battle earlier. Even with Sesshomaru's spine still straight and his gait even, Kagome could see weariness in the hunch of his shoulders as he walked, and when he unsheathed Tenseiga, he did it with his left hand – it seemed that the horrible wound from Kagome's fangs on his right shoulder made him unable to raise another one.

After one swift swing Sesshomaru put his sword away, and Kagome watched with bated breath as wounds on the boy's body healed magically, and his mouth suddenly opened in a sharp intake of breath. Then his eyes did too and he looked up at her and Sesshomaru, only to let out a terrified scream a moment later.

"Messengers of Hell!" he screamed in panic, scrambled to his feet, "Izanami-sama, spare my soul!"

Kagome didn't had a chance to say anything about her and Sesshomaru being neither of those beings before the boy was far away from them both, running so fast that his legs became a blur. 'Well,' Kagome pursed her lips awkwardly, 'this could've gone better, but dying is probably very traumatizing. And I and Sesshomaru don't really look our best right now. Actually… oh gods, I am still naked!'

Kagome realized with a start and a blush that she had, indeed, forgotten to dress herself in favor of watching over the miraculous act of resurrection, and thus, the boy just saw her completely naked! It really wasn't the same as being naked around just Sesshomaru and her hands rose up to cover her breasts in a very late reflex. She needed to get dressed now! Though now that she was thinking about it, Kagome will probably be better with a bath first, if only to spare her clothes the stains. As far as she was aware, there were no bodies of water in the vicinity of the valley she was in, but this was exactly one of those situations where her haven-gourd will be a great boon.

A cold and wet touch to the place where Kagome's right ear once was interrupted her musings. She turned sharply on her heels and saw Sesshomaru's face in less than a palm's length from her own.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, staggering back in surprise, "Don't startle me like that!"

"You let your guard down. This Sesshomaru is licking your wounds, since you won't reach most of them yourself," Sesshomaru explained in his customary monotone, but his eyes gleamed familiarly.

Kagome knew well about slight regenerative qualities of dog youkai spit – it mostly helped with the blood knotting and preventing infections, though did both with a great power fueled by dogs' youki. But her wounds didn't bled much thanks to her own regeneration, and she'd prefer to put proper dressings and some healing salve on them and Sesshomaru's ones instead anyway. And the gleam in his eyes suggested another motive; one that Kagome had more than enough time to familiarize herself with.

"We both will be better after a bath and with actual bandages instead of this, Sesshomaru," she replied, sitting near a pile of her clothes to produce the haven-gourd out of it, "and I have both of them with me. Come, you shoulder really needs some attention! And my ribs too," she cringed slightly, putting a hand on a horribly-looking bruise on the side of her torso.

"It can wait," Sesshomaru dismissed, moving closer to her back as Kagome stood up and pulled out the gourd's plug, "Your ferocity was… exceptional."

"What do you mean 'it can wait'? No it can't!" Kagome exclaimed, throwing her hands up agitatedly and immediately regretting it because her wounds reacted to her movements with sharp stabs of pain. She started to turn towards Sesshomaru, but that movement was interrupted when his hand embraced her from behind and a pair of warm lips with a wet tongue between them latched on her neck greedily, making Kagome gasp in surprise.

"Sesshomaru… what…" she stuttered as Sesshomaru's hand wandered across her body, stroking her bruises and gashes with utmost gentleness and caressing unblemished skin with more forceful movements. It took Kagome a second more to gather her bearings, slap the offending hand away and get out of Sesshomaru's hold, "What are you doing?!"

It was like the mating season all over again, except it wasn't, and the situation was highly, highly inappropriate. Both of them were tired and wounded and just out of battle, and how the hell Sesshomaru was even able to think about such things right now? She guessed that his tongue wasn't burnt badly enough, after all. He didn't give her any insight in his thoughts, and instead just continued to devour her with his eyes instead of lips.

Kagome straightened up and glared back at him. If he was going to continue like that, then she was going to just try and force him to accept first aid. What the hell was he thinking about? Did she accidentally hit his head in the battle and didn't notice?

But eventually, after few long moments of tense and charged staring, Sesshomaru made a step back and his face lost the lust that was written on it moments before, though last embers of it were still noticeable deep within his predatory eyes.

"Such pure, powerful blood suits you greatly," Sesshomaru said and slowly licked it from the fingers that just caressed her breast, "You may do whatever you wish, but only after this Sesshomaru makes sure that not a drop of it is wasted."

Kagome shivered under his gaze. She was unsure if she was more grossed out or actually aroused. She couldn't deny that she liked his ministrations before, and the thought of his agile doggy tongue licking the blood from her skin everywhere made her knees weaken. Was it youkai thing or just specifically Sesshomaru's perversion? More importantly, was Kagome going to accept or deny it?

Well, knowing how stubborn Sesshomaru might be, this was probably the easiest way to get his wounds patched up. And honestly, Kagome wasn't really that much interested in looking for other possible options.

"Fine, but first I will bandage you," she made an ultimatum, "even if I will need to paralyze you with ofudas first!"

Sesshomaru only chuckled slightly at that, his lips stretching in a smirk; but when Kagome plugged the cork out of the haven-gourd and let its magic to transport them both inside, he didn't resist it.