~The Pilfered Bride~

"Kagome, wait for me, I'll go with you! Hanako, come back here right now- Oh Kumiko, not you too!"

Shaking her head and smiling as the young mother ran after the giggling twins, Kagome continued on toward the light-speckled forest path, warm sunlight draping her shoulders like a comforting blanket. She'd been feeling so stiff and tired lately, and her body was aching for some relaxation. "Don't worry Sango" she called back, almost sighing at how perfect and pleasant a day it was, "I'm just taking a quick dip in the river- I'll be back before you know it!"

Her easy attitude wasn't catching for her friend though, and she clearly heard the worry in Sango's tone as she said, struggling to hold onto the arm of one laughing toddler, "but Inuyasha and Miroku won't be back until tonight- shouldn't you wait until then, or at least wait until I manage to get these little demons under control?" she shot the twins stern glances which only sent them further into giggles. "I don't like the idea of you going off to bathe without any kind of protection."

"Oh Sango, relax! Inuyasha went on patrol yesterday and said there weren't any demons around for miles!" Waving her hand dismissively, Kagome continued "besides, my powers have been increasing since I got back. I can put up a barrier now you know!"

Her confidence seemed to reassure her friend some, but Sango wasn't totally convinced. "I still say you should wait. You know Inuyasha will have my head if he hears I let you wander off on your own!"

Rolling her eyes to the leafy canopy, Kagome took a few steps further along the path and huffed. She knew Sango was right, but… she also knew something about the half-demon that Sango didn't. He always missed her like crazy when he went on demon exterminations with the monk, and their reunions were hot and heavy and lasted long into the night. Kagome, anticipating such a reunion that evening, wanted to be bathed and prepared to see her hunky husband, and she knew nothing excited him like smelling her fresh clean scent and having the chance to bury it in his own.

Knowing that time was wasting and that the demon-slaying-mom was too protective to let her have her way, Kagome made a rash decision. What Sango didn't know wouldn't get her in trouble- and once Inuyasha found her freshly bathed and ready for lovin' upon his return, he'd forget to be angry with either of them.

"I suppose you're right…" she said despondently, tapping her fingers together and kicking softy at the dirt with a sandled foot, "I guess I'll go home and start dinner." Her friend merely grunted acknowledgment as she hefted Kumiko off the ground and dropped her next to the laundry basket where her baby brother slept. Watching as Sango continued to fight the losing battle with getting all children in the same place at once, Kagome began slowly backing away along the path, her voice rising slightly to say "Alright, well, I'll be going then! I'll probably see you tomorrow Sango!" Not sure if the woman had heard, but not daring to stick around longer and be stopped, Kagome turned heel and walked briskly down the path back to her home.

She sent a silent prayer of thanks to the gods that the path to the river forked off from her own, making her trickery less conspicuous to her friend. The cove she loved to bathe in was out of sight and hearing from Sango and Miroku's dwelling and far enough from the village that she'd get some privacy before the demon slayer or anyone else could even think to get suspicious. Passing through the rocky outcrop outside of it, Kagome smiled to hear the soft rush of water as it flowed over the stones of the small valley, and as she rounded the wall of a low cliff, the sight of the shimmering blue water made her giddy as always.

Glancing around quickly, already certain she wouldn't be disturbed, Kagome shed her priestess robes, folding them on a nearby boulder, and all but skipped into the chilly water with a delighted squeal. Submerging and staying down for a breath or two to adjust to the low temperature, she sprung again from the water with a gasp, her hair whipping around her body and dragging along her back. With a leisurely sigh she reclined in the water, floating on the current and squinting as she looked up against the late afternoon sun hiding its face behind whisping clouds of pure white. Laughter bubbled up in her, pure, ecstatic love for the world she now called home, and Kagome gave up her peaceful floating to splash and swim and dive deep under the water as the natural beauty of her Feudal-Era home hummed through her skin.

She couldn't wait to see Inuyasha - perhaps she could convince him to make love to her under the stars tonight.

Her head popped above the clear surface of the water, gaze drifting up the short cliff to a grassy overhang, and she grinned at the memory of a dog-eared boy who'd once watched her in a very similar situation. It really was just the jewel he'd been after back then and not peeking, back at the start of their journey together when he hadn't even called her by name. Well, the jewel and maybe just a hint of boyish curiosity. Now though… she wondered what he'd do if he were there watching now, as her husband… and her smile turned mischievous as she wondered how she'd react to him in turn. She certainly wouldn't 'sit' him this time.

Kagome was just thinking to herself that she'd have to run the idea for a 'do-over' past the half-demon at some point, when a distant thundering sound rumbled through the narrow valley around her private pool. She froze in the water, hardly daring to breathe as her senses honed in on the sound, certain she could feel the water pulsing around her with the beating thrum. It sounded like horse-hooves.

Realization struck with lightning speed, and water sloshed all around her as Kagome swam desperately for the shore. Her feet felt weighed to anchors as they finally met the pebbled riverbed and she dragged herself the rest of the way out of the stream. She could hear them now: horses, riders, men with armor and weapons and approaching at a steady rate. Kagome just had time to tie on her inner Kosode, gathering up her outer robe and red priestess hakama, not even bothering to slip on her sandals as she made a break for the path out of her cove on bare, scratched feet - and suddenly there they were.

"HALT Men! Woman, stay where you are!"

Kagome couldn't will her feet to move even without the samurai's orders. The men on horseback loomed over her like an iron wall, and Kagome cursed herself for not having brought her bow and arrows. Not that she would have shot these men, but at least she could have intimidated her way to freedom.

She noticed the riders moving aside from the middle and saw a solitary horseman pushing his way to the front, the man astride the animal dressed richly and obviously their leader. 'He's no samurai though' Kagome noted, 'probably the lord in charge of them.' Her guard went up tenfold.

His rich blue suikan was pressed and spotless, draping over his horse like a cape and shining like silk - which, Kagome realized, it probably was. He had a young looking face and hair pulled back in a knot, with clear brown eyes that looked down on her in avid interest. It took Kagome another moment to realize that, with her hair still sopping wet and only a thin kosode for cover, she made quite the alluring spectacle for the leering band of men. She hugged her priestess robes tighter to her chest and glared indignantly at her audience.

"A young maiden…" the lord whispered in a velvety tenor, "a celestial maiden has graced our path!"

It took a few blinks for Kagome to process what she'd heard, and by then it was too late.

"Men! I have found her! I have found my bride! Wrap her in silk and bring her to my side at once - we shall return straightway to the stronghold and a feast shall be held in celebration!" His horse reared up as if to applaud his speech, and suddenly Kagome was flanked with Samurai as they dropped from their steeds and grabbed her by the arms. She shrieked, she flailed, she dropped her priestess robes and sandals and could hardly remember how to form words among her shouts as the men stuffed her in a kimono, tying the obi far too tightly and slung her over the neck of the lord's horse, her hands and feet bound in silk ribbons as they began to gallop away.

/~~~~~~~~~/

Sango watched her approaching husband with dewy eyes, gently trying to rock the fussing baby in her arms to sleep as the hut behind her rang with shrill laughter. Miroku's smile grew wider as he caught the usual cacophony of his family, and without question he took the infant from Sango's arms and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You need to exorcise the house" she rasped, all but falling against him, "they're possessed, I just know it. They haven't sat still all day, and first Kumiko threw her rice bowl on the floor, and then Hanako followed suit, and then they wouldn't stop shouting - just shouting! Up at the sky! For no reason at all! And then they said they would nap and I got them down and they pretended to be little angels, and right as I got settled into feeding Taro… they started hitting each other… with their pillows…. The pillows broke… buckwheat went everywhere…. Oh Miroku!"

Four years of married life had taught the monk well - although he knew his wife didn't really mean for him to exorcise their darling daughters of demons, he also knew better than to laugh. "There there Love, I'll handle them. You go sit and look at the stars, alright? I'll come join you when they're to bed." Nodding gratefully, the demon-slayer stumbled over to the railing beside their hut, leaning heavily against it and gazing up at the purple evening sky already blanketed in diamond specks. The hills were still lined in golden sunlight, and the beautiful view was already improving her mood. It tanked drastically at the sight of red bounding out of the forest and an angry shout of "Oi!"

Mentally counting to five, Sango put her evening break on hold and shouted to the approaching figure, not bothering to hide her annoyance "Inuyasha, aren't you supposed to be at ho-"

"Where's Kagome?"

Silence. Gold clashed with Mauve in confusion and fear. Not a cricket chirped - even the evening breeze seemed to have died.

"Wha- what do you mean 'where's Kagome?' She went home hours ago."

Sango knew the moment the words left her mouth that something was horribly wrong; and with a sinking feeling, she realized it was all her fault. She knew the guilt must have shown on her face at Inuyasha's next words. "Tell me where she went, Sango."

Swallowing back her fear, not just for her friend but a little for what the half-demon might do to her should something have happened, Sango said thickly "She… she wanted to go to the river… to bathe… I told her not to, but - HEY! Come back!"

But Inuyasha was already gone, following the same path his wife had taken hours earlier.

/~~~~~~~~~/

"H-hey! You can't just grab someone like this! Put me down right now! Are you listening to me?! Let me down right now or I swear I'll - I'll -" Kagome left off with a growl, struggling to talk as she was jostled on the back of the horse. The lord's hand came to rest suddenly on her back, and Kagome froze as fear and discomfort drenched her in silence.

"Maiden, I urge you to calm yourself. I mean you no harm." Despite the calm in his voice, the feeling wasn't shared by Kagome.

"Calm? Y-you expect me to be calm? You KIDNAPPED me!" She tried to crane her neck to look at him, to glare at him and make him face the reality of what he'd done, but the movement of the horse and her low angle against it made the position impossible. With a grumble she slumped back to where she'd been, at the mercy of her captor and his monologuing.

"I'd hardly call 'saving a beautiful woman from a life of poverty' kidnapping" he chided, sounding as though she'd actually offended him with the accusation, "especially when I offer you the chance to be lady of my stronghold, queen of my castle, mistress of my chambers." His voice left off in a low and sultry tone, and Kagome nearly choked on her own saliva, unable to get her mouth moving to scream at him as he properly deserved. "Although you may not be as young and delicate a flower as some other lords might desire, I find your seasoned beauty all the more alluring."

Kagome's mouth hung open in shock, her face turning a furious red, and her shout rang over the grassy plains of Japan as she shrieked "SEASONED?! I'M ONLY 20, YOU JERK!"

Most of the trip was spent furiously trying to fight her way off the horse by beating the lord's legs with her bound fists, her feet desperately trying to kick up and reach his face, but her bindings left her flopping about like a fish, and for all her effort she only seemed to be agitating the horse. Bearing no grudge against the animal and knowing it would only be a matter of time before her husband came storming in to take her back, Kagome eventually gave in and behaved like the captured maiden she was supposed to be. Finding his captive bride giving up her fight, the lord launched into a spiel on the greatness of his stronghold and the might of his personal army of samurai. Somewhere in his droning he mentioned the battles he'd been waging with his soldiers the past few years, and how long he'd been away travelling, and how he'd never had the time to even think about marriage until now. Luckily for Kagome, the clamor of horse hooves drowned out most of his prattling.

It wasn't long before they came upon the barren slopes of a hill, atop which an imposing wooden fortress had been erected, and the lord proudly announced to the captive woman that this would be her new home. The troop of samurai, thronged around the lord protectively, marched up a sloping hill and filed in under a heavy door of wooden beams. It slammed behind them with a resounding boom, but Kagome paid it no mind: after all, what was wood to Tetsusaiga?

A few women and children wandered about behind the gated wall, watching in awe from the sidelines as the samurai passed, and Kagome pursed her lips to see that not one spared her so much as a sympathetic glance. 'Probably not the first woman to come here draped on horseback' she thought sourly, her expression turning grim as the reality of the situation and what may have happened to those other women hit home. 'I won't end up like them' she raged, 'I won't let this man speak for me - I know Inuyasha will come, but until he does, I'm gonna give this pompous lord a piece of my mind!'

She didn't run as she was finally set on her feet and unbound. Even after she'd regained her equilibrium, before the guards flanked her sides once more, she stood firm and tall and in place, holding her head high as she faced the lord. Her act of defiance went unnoticed however as he said jovially "Come, let us speak together in my room" and she was herded away after him without a word of protest. Once she was forced to her knees on the tatami inside his house, with the lord seated on a cushion across from her in a lamplit room, she finally let her tongue fly.

"I hope you don't think I'll actually agree to be your bride - not that you bothered to ask in the first place, you swine, but had you actually bothered, we could have been spared this whole little trek across the country." Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Kagome adopted a smug look she stole straight from Inuyasha and said calmly and clearly "unfortunately for you, I'm already married."

She'd been expecting outrage, disappointment, maybe even embarrassment - what she got was hardly a raised eyebrow. "And? This changes nothing. I already assumed as much."

"Y-You what?" She didn't know which was spinning - the room or her head, but she wondered briefly if this was how Inuyasha felt when he turned into a demon. "Let me get this straight." Her fingers curled into the expensive silk kimono, her knuckles turning white as the lord watched her, completely unfazed. "You mean you kidnapped a woman, with the intention of marrying her, knowing she could already be married to SOMEONE ELSE?!"

The lord gave her an odd look, sucking in a breath and saying quickly "I'm not sure I understand your confusion my lady: obviously, by taking you away from him, you are no longer his wife, and therefore free to be mine."

For a moment she could do nothing but stare in disbelief, but as the lord did not change expression or show any sign of unease, she had to assume he was being completely honest with her. Kagome groaned and brought a hand to her forehead, willing away the growing ache as she mumbled "no wonder they invented marriage licenses if everyone used to go around wife-snatching like this!" The sound of a clearing throat before her caused her to crack open an eye, glaring half-heartedly at the feudal-age man across from her who was the source of her current suffering.

"My lady, I assure you, if it is the loss of your purity you worry over, it is of no matter to me. The blossom that has fallen from the tree holds its beauty even as it lays among the flowers."

'Forget waiting. I'm out of here.' She'd already risen to her feet and turned to leave, ignoring the confused and frustrated shouts of the lord as he asked where she was going. If she had to stay one more minute and listen to his patronizing, misogynistic dribble, she was going to do something she'd regret. Or possibly wouldn't regret but would have a hard time explaining to Inuyasha once he arrived. She pulled the shoji door open with force - and nearly screamed in frustration to see two large guards standing on the other side. Wavy black hair, dry and tousled from the horseback ride, whipped in her face as she turned a baleful look on the lord, his own eyes full of reprimand. The fact that he looked at her like a disobedient child just made her anger brew stronger.

"I swear, when my husband gets here, you'll be in for it. You know, he's usually a pretty okay guy and tries not to kill people without reason, but this time…" her fingers curled into fists, her body shaking as she stood captive in the foreign mansion, "this time I might not bother stopping him."

The lord seemed unimpressed though, his eyes narrowing and lips turning into a sneer as he snapped "If your husband didn't want you gone, he should have taken better care not to lose you." Kagome flinched; those words cut her to the bone,but not because of her husband. No it wasn't Inuyasha's fault - it was hers. She knew she should have been more careful, she should have listened to Sango. She should never have let her guard down when her guard-dog wasn't around to watch her back. "Once he realizes that you've been taken" the lord continued blithely, "he'll surely back down and move on like any villager would. It's even likely he'll take a new wife. Peasants know better than to pick fights with samurai."

Kagome's melancholy thoughts were cut off by a new realization, and one that made her grin: this man was underestimating her. Underestimating them. Boy, would he be in for a surprise! "And whoever said my husband was a simple peasant?"

The lord sat silent for a moment, contemplating her smug expression and cryptic response, answering with a more subdued and cautious "A headman's son perhaps? Or even… the headman himself? It can't be that you have samurai or warriors in a village as small as yours. Either way, it is of no use. No man could follow our trail or find our castle. The route is treacherous and impossible if you do not know the way."

"Hmm, no normal man perhaps, but my I-nu-ya-sha" she drew the name out long and lovingly, making sure to enunciate the words so the lord simply couldn't miss their meaning, "would have no problem tracking a bunch of smelly horses and even smellier humans.

She could almost see the cogs turning in his head and the dots connecting her points as his face became ashen. "M-my lady… w-what manner of man is your husband, exactly?"

Her eyes narrowed, her smile dropping away into a flat line as she said with venom "You should never have messed with a half-demon's bitch."

The ground shook in a sudden shockwave as the panicked sound of yelling soldiers and falling debris rose up outside the mansion walls. Kagome's lip quirked up at the violent flinch of the man seated on the plush cushion before her. 'Perfect timing, Dog-boy.' Splintering wood, thuds of fallen bodies, and thwacks of fists meeting flesh were the fanfare heralding his entrance, and despite wanting to keep an eye on her main offender, Kagome couldn't help glancing over her shoulder to see her red-clad hero approach with Tetsusaiga over his shoulder, not even sparing a glare at the samurai he knocked unconscious along the way. He was intense and looming and his eyes were burning holes into her body and she'd never felt more of a raging desire for him than she did at that moment.

But it wasn't time for that just yet. The guards between them turned to face the intruder, their halberds raised in a shaky warning, but Inuyasha sliced through the weapons and knocked their helmets together, letting the soldiers fall to a messy heap on the tatami mats. His gaze snapped at once to Kagome, and sheathing his sword, he was immediately at her side. Her arms went out to embrace him, but he held her back. She blinked, wondering for a moment if he was mad at her, and then noticed him kneeling down at eye level with her stomach.

"Inuyasha, what -" she bit off her words with an intake of breath as he tore through her obi and ripped the borrowed kimono from her, balling it up in his hands and throwing it viciously across the room. Her heart fluttered, her blood heating and racing in her veins as his fingers wormed their way through the fold of her kosode, leaving it tied but opening it up enough to expose a sliver of stomach. Holding the folds of cloth demurely to her chest, her cheeks flushed and she gasped in maidenly pleasure as he laid his cheek against her bare skin, completely forgetting that they hadn't been alone in the room. As the seconds ticked by and he did nothing, sitting still at her feet with his head pressed to her belly, Kagome's inner fire began to dim, until confusion took its place and it went out with a whoosh.

When Inuyasha pulled away with a sigh of relief, looking as though he'd awoken from a nightmare to find the first rays of morning sun, Kagome began to suspect something. At his whispered "it's okay", she felt her heart stop, melt, reform into the purest gold, and then burn up again in the most fierce frustration she'd felt in a long time. Her hand moved at lightning pace to latch onto a downy dog-ear, and she tugged him up to her eye level, ignoring his wince and pained complaints as her livid eyes met his suddenly fearful ones.

"Have you been keeping a secret from me, Inuyasha?"

Panic filled those beautiful amber eyes, and Kagome couldn't help the softening of her mood. She blamed it on hormones. She'd be blaming a lot of things on hormones for as long as she had the excuse. Stroking his ear reassuringly before releasing it, Kagome cupped his face and brought her lips to his for the briefest contact, whispering against him "I won't be mad about it… just tell me so I know for sure…."

She heard him swallow, felt him take a deep breath against her, and then the words breathed out over her mouth "You're with child."

The hand that wasn't tracing his jaw dropped to her stomach, sliding over the fabric as though she could feel for herself, although there was nothing yet to feel. She was free-falling, a strange sort of surreality settling on her mind as she tried to visualize what Inuyasha was telling her - tried to really grasp it and make it concrete. And then… then she remembered what she'd gone through that day, the danger she'd been in, the danger she'd put herself in, and her eyes stung.

"Inuyasha… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry I wandered off. If I'd known…" her hand clutched her kosode as worst-case scenarios played out in her head, "but… you should have told me! If you'd only told me when you knew, I'd never have -"

"Idiot", he muttered, pressing his lips to hers again, "I was… gonna tell you soon. Besides, you shouldn't need a baby to be the only reason you take care of yourself. Even if you weren't having our kid, I still wouldn't want you goin' off by yourself like that. I don't wanna lose you again." His fingers found hers, dragging her away from her clutching and lacing together in a comforting bond. Kagome smiled, nodding and leaning in to nuzzle against his neck. She breathed in the comforting smell of him, but after a moment worry set in again.

"Inuyasha, are you sure the baby's alright though? You don't understand - they were pretty rough." A growl ripped through him, and his arms encircled her in a tight grip; realizing what she'd said, Kagome quickly amended "They never touched me, aside from dragging me around, but… they threw me on a horse… we rode for miles…." her face rose, pleading eyes searching his for reassurance as she asked "Inuyasha, are you sure our baby is alive and safe?"

Kagome was treated to one of Inuyasha's rare smiles as he dropped a kiss to her nose and answered softly "the baby's just fine - I heard its heartbeat. It's faint, but that's only cuz it's still tiny. Probably no bigger than a persimmon." Giggling, Kagome laid her head against her husband's chest, burrowing into the warmth of his red robes and looking across the empty room.

Her drooping eyes shot wide as she realized the room wasn't actually supposed to be empty. "Inuyasha! He's gone!" Kagome's growing panic was capped by Inuyasha's terse voice saying "What, you mean the snivelling, eavesdropping coward? Nah, he's still here." Letting go of his wife and crossing the room to the far wall, Inuyasha pushed aside a shoji door to reveal a futon closet full of blankets and a balled up, whimpering Samurai lord.

Grabbing the man by the collar of his expensive silk suikan, Inuyasha threw him down onto the tatami, holding him there with his foot square in the middle of the man's ribcage. It was clear from the expression on both their faces that they knew the slightest pressure could crush his bones like twigs. "So tell me, wife" Inuyasha called over to Kagome, his fierce eyes never leaving the cowering man on the ground, "aside from putting our child at risk," his foot pressed down almost imperceptibly, and the lord yowled with watering eyes as Inuyasha continued in a louder voice, "what was it this piece of trash planned to do after dragging you away from home?"

Sauntering up to stand proudly at his side, Kagome looked down at the lord (whose name she still didn't know and hoped she'd never learn) and answered saucily "Oh, just the usual. Make me his bride, have me run his castle, force me to bear his children. You know how it goes." A growl boiled up in the half-demon, and his foot pressed a little harder into the man's sternum, making him whine pitifully.

"P-Please spare me, demon! If I had known she was wed already, I never would have touched her!"

"Really?" Kagome said in mock surprise, bringing a finger up to tap at her chin, "and here I recall him saying that once I was away from you, I'd be free for the taking." Her husband's growls crescendoed into a deadly snarl as Kagome continued angrily "oh yeah, and he said you'd probably move on and find someone else after I'd gone."

"Like hell I would" Inuyasha spat, removing his foot from the man and kicking his side harshly. It knocked the wind out of the lord, who lay there gasping for a moment and clutching his side in pain. Huffing and turning to face his wife, the half-demon groused "I hate the people here. What kinda system is this where a man can't turn his back without gettin' his wife stolen? I knew we shoulda just stayed in your time."

Smiling, Kagome reached up to play with the trailing strands of white brushing over his shoulder, saying thoughtfully "I don't know if it's any better in my time. Sure, people don't literally go stealing wives on horseback, but… in a way it still happens. It's just a lot more… subtle." Her smile turned pensive, and she looked up to Inuyasha's watchful eyes with a shrug. "People are the same no matter what time you're in. Their methods just change a little bit. At least you know I'd never let someone take me away."

His eyes darkened in a deep understanding and love, and Kagome melted at the sight. She knew he didn't fear losing her heart to anyone anymore, just as she didn't fear losing his. No matter how many lords or demons or undead priestesses came to drag them away from each other, their hearts would always be loyal.

Finding his clawed hand, Kagome clasped her fingers around his and said breathily "Let's go home, Inuyasha. I'm tired." He nodded his assent, but turned once more to the prone man on the floor and said darkly "If I ever catch you snooping around my village again, I'll tie you up in the nearest tree as food for the demon crows." Turning, he placed a hand at Kagome's back to gently usher her out of the room, but after only a few steps he froze, and in one fluid motion removed his own suikan and draped it over the girl's shoulders. In two strides he was leaning over the prone lord, his teeth bared and face shadowed as he snarled "And if you ever lay eyes on my wife in her underclothes again, I'll RIP your eyes out!"

Removing Tetsusaiga from its sheathe once more and brandishing the transformed weapon on his shoulder, Inuyasha escorted his red-clothed wife out of the mansion, calling back to the still shaking human "Have fun fixing the front gate, bastard."

The Lord watched the pair disappear down the dark corridor, not daring to move until long after they were both out of sight. Slumping against the floor and wincing at his bruised ribcage, he brought a sweating palm to his forehead, regrets piling up as he thought back on the day's events. The young woman had been so beautiful, and the situation had seemed ideal: a maiden alone, bathing, vulnerable, far from anyone who could have protested his choice. Of course he hadn't been expecting her to be so… outspoken and stubborn, but he had assumed that, with time, those traits would give way to more demure behaviors. Yes, he was certain she would have made a lovely bride.

But there was a hierarchy among men in their age, and as loathe as the young lord was to admit it, even a half-demon ranked above a samurai in the order of power. They'd never stood a chance.

He'd have to have a stern chat with his scout about failing to mention that his prospective bride was in fact a demon's lover. It was fortunate that the young lady was unaware she'd been watched during her bathing, or they'd have never heard the end of it. And if her husband ever found out… a shiver ran down the lord's spine, and rising onto tingling feet, he made a hasty retreat from the room to begin repairs on the fortress gate.

/~~~~~~~~~/

"And then he called me seasoned! SEASONED! Can you believe that?! I never got to beat him properly for that one. I still say you didn't give him enough payback for what he did." Kagome felt her husband sigh from her spot on his back, and her expression soured. "Come on, he barely had a scratch!"

"You think I didn't notice?" He groused, turning slightly to catch her gaze as he reached the edge of their home village, "I was just trying to be more… responsible, y'know? We got a kid to worry about now, and I don't want a whole army comin' down on my head for bloodyin' up their lord. The gate will keep 'em busy, and the guards will be too shook up to try anything on their own. He's scared, that'll have to do."

Kagome fell across his back with a 'hmph', her arms draping listlessly over his shoulders and hands swinging slightly with his gate. Of course she understood his reasoning, and he was right, but… still. She didn't feel nearly satisfied. Nestling her cheek into his soft cushion of hair, Kagome gazed up at the blanket of stars in the deep blue ocean of night, their twinkling light reflecting across her eyes in dazzling patterns. Thoughts from earlier that day drifted to the forefront of her mind, reminding her what had started this whole mess, and she felt her cheeks warm. So the mood had been a little ruined by her unexpected abduction, and maybe Inuyasha was still upset at her for wandering off, but… perhaps she could still convince him to make love to her out under this diamond expanse. Remembering how dashing and virile he'd looked as he stormed the castle to rescue her like some fairytale princess, she was more than willing to give the idea a try.

Her nerves fizzled and her temperature rose as she swallowed, readying to speak, when she looked back down at the path ahead of them and realized where they were. Perhaps she wouldn't have to beg him too much. "Wha… Inuyasha?"

"You wanted a bath, right?" He said with a grin, kneeling to let Kagome down gently onto the rocky alcove alongside the river, "And I won't complain if you wash the stench of horses and samurai off ya." He stood and slipped around behind her, his hands falling heavy on her shoulders as he breathed hotly in her ear "I'll have you smelling much better in no time." The hands on her shoulders tugged the material of his suikan and her kosode apart to cling to her upper arms, but Kagome still held them to her chest as pleasant chills ran up her exposed skin and Inuyasha began to kiss her neck.

"Can we… outside….. tonight?" She could hardly remember what it was she'd wanted to ask him as his warm lips paved a path up and down her neck, his tongue flicking out occasionally to taste her and fangs grazing in the absolute most pleasant way. She felt as well as heard his laugh as it ghosted against her heated skin, and her knees nearly buckled.

"Why not?" he responded grinning, "It's a nice night out, ain't it?" His attentions returned to her neck, and his hands wrapped around to find the ties to her robes, but her trembling hands grasped his before the cloth could be pulled apart. "Wait…" she whispered, wetting her lips as she attempted to get her racing heart back under a modicum of control, "could you… do something for me?"

Inuyasha froze as soon as her hands met his, but Kagome didn't give him long to wonder. Lifting a hand, she pointed in the dark to the outcropping of grass-covered rock above them and said shyly "Would you go up there, and… watch me?" There was a pause before Inuyasha responded, and when he did, Kagome could tell he hadn't quite got the message.

"But… I could protect you just fine down here."

"No, I mean…" she turned to face him fully, her eyes straining in the moonlight to get her point across as she repeated emphatically "watch me." Eventually her bold gaze got through to him, and she could have sworn she saw him look a bit flustered before his married-man bravado kicked in and he replaced the expression with a smirk.

"Is that the same hill where I saw you, y'know, way back when?" She nodded. "Are you going to sit me again?" Smiling, she slowly shook her head. That seemed to be good enough for him. Without another word he turned on his heel and leapt away into the darkness, and Kagome's breath caught in her throat to be suddenly alone. She waited in the shadowed alcove, listening to the faint sounds of rustling cloth until finally she could hear no more, and with a shuddering breath, her hands rose to fumble with the ties of her clothing.

She wasn't going to see if he was watching yet - he could spy all he wanted, but she wasn't supposed to know he was there until she was already in the water, naked and vulnerable and waiting for him to swoop down and snatch her up. He was the only one allowed that privilege.

Kagome hissed as she stepped into the cold river, her only saving grace the fact that it was a warm summer night and the water wasn't as freezing as it could have been. Biting her lip, she rushed in and dunked herself under before the temperature could dissuade her, holding herself under just long enough not to worry her watch-dog and bursting out from the water's surface with a gasp. She swam for a while, desperate to warm her limbs and completely forgetting her audience in the process. It wasn't until she'd finally adjusted, when her teeth no longer rattled and she could swim for leisure and not for friction, that she at last looked up at the stars and saw the silhouette marring the skyline.

Oh, but this was different from back then! On that third day of their companionship, he'd been an annoying boy with strange looks who she just didn't want to deal with; now, seeing the outline of his crouched form, strands of his hair picking up in a breeze, eyes reflecting like an animal in the starlight as he watched her, she couldn't believe she'd ever thought of him as anything less than beautiful. Aware of her gaze on him, he stood, and there was something in his posture that set goosebumps erupting over Kagome's skin and had her palms sweating. Even from a distance, she could feel tension radiating off him, and could almost taste the intensity of his glowing stare.

In a flash he had jumped from the hilltop to the rocky ground below, and before Kagome could even think of a next move, he was stripping off the remainder of his clothes and tossing them haphazardly to the ground as he stalked toward her with predatory grace. Entranced and terrified, Kagome shifted her feet nervously on the pebbled riverbed as her husband approached, just as naked now as she with his silver hair and tan skin illuminated by moonlight. But as he got closer, Kagome noted that his perfectly sculpted body was offset by a scowling frown so brooding that the young woman almost took a step back.

"You weren't alone" was all he said when he finally came to stand before her, and Kagome was left floundering for a response as he loomed above her in the water, breathing hard through his nose. She was saved from having to figure out his strange statement as he continued in a voice dripping with fury "There's a scent up on that hill - it's still fresh, from earlier today. It's one of those samurai."

It didn't take long for Kagome to put two and two together, and when she did, her stomach churned. "Y-you mean…"

He cut her off with a fierce growl, his arms shooting out to grasp her and pull her body flush against his. Her body tingled at the delicious feeling of wet skin sliding against wet skin, as well as the rumbling of his chest against hers as he muttered darkly "some jackass saw you naked, and I'm gonna make sure he won't remember it much longer."

Anger and embarrassment welled up in her at the thought of one of those disgusting men spying on her like that, but those and any other negative emotions were promptly tossed right out of her brain as Inuyasha picked her up out of the water, wrapped her legs around his waist, and kissed her hard on the mouth. Her head swam and her arms swathed around his neck, and a smile tugged at her lips between meetings with his as she mused 'like he needed another reason to be possessive.'

He kept a firm grip on her as he walked them out of the water, bending to pick up their discarded clothes along the way, and Kagome smiled all the more at his completely unnecessary show of strength, as well as the dizzying ride she was getting as she clung to him. "So…" she started brightly, catching his eye as he walked them naked through the trees to find a clearing, "we're going back tomorrow then?"

Grunting in what sounded like a laugh, Inuyasha reached an open ring of trees through which Kagome could see the stars sparkling over them. Dropping their pile of robes to the ground, Inuyasha lowered Kagome down onto them, and draping himself over her, rasped low in her ear "Damn right we're goin' back tomorrow. Now then Wife, shut up and let me show ya some stars."

*Author's Note:

If you've ever watched/read Rumiko Takahashi's other works Ranma 1/2 or Urusei Yatsura, you'll know that false fiances and forced marriages pop up pretty much every other story arc. Heck both Ranma movies and two Urusei Yatsura movies were completely centered on this trope. And yet aside from one filler episode with that nasty boar demon, we never got to see this play out in the Inuyasha-verse. Which in my opinion is a cryin' shame, cuz it's one of my favorite tropes. I *love* finding fics featuring it, so naturally I had to try my hand at it too :3 This was really just for fun, and I hope it made you smile!