Warmth
disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha copyrights.
A/n: Yes, Sesshomaru is just a tad bit OoC, but oh well.
000ooo000
Some things never changed, Kagome mused to herself as she watched the fire crackle over the black logs. Here she was, as she had been for so many years, sitting in front of a fire as her friends slept peacefully, unable to sleep. It was as if her brain couldn't stop working and she was doomed to long hours alone with only the fire for company. The idea saddened her and made the slow minutes until dawn seem even longer. What was the use, she asked herself, slowly getting to her feet. She took a quick look around to make sure she hadn't disturbed anyone, and turned to walk into the shadowy darkness of the forest surrounding them. Naraku hadn't been heard from in months and Inuyasha hadn't sensed any demons nearby, so what was the harm in a little walk? If she got to far, she could always scream for help. So with that cheerful thought in mind, Kagome ignored the little part of her mind that was screaming at her not to go into the deep, dark woods alone, and set out for a little change of scenery. The moonlight filtered down from between the branches above her, casting a silvery glow on all it touched. The smooth light caressed her bare arms and slipped over her long hair, making her feel like a fairy in a fairy tale. " I hope there aren't any witches out." she whispered to herself, only half joking.
She continued in this fashion for some time, always sure to keep the light of the fire in sight, until the faint smell of sulfur caught her attention. A hot springs, she thought happily, forgetting about the camp for a moment. The idea of a long soak in the hot water was just what the doctor ordered. Kagome, cheerful at the prospect of a good night's sleep for once, turned and followed her nose. Sure enough, within moments, the air became steamy and the trees opened up into a beautiful rock pool, filled with hot water to bath in. Kagome giggled softly and started to take off her shoes. Off went the ducky pajama bottoms and the blanket she had wrapped herself in, until she stood in only her tank top, the light breeze tickling her bare skin. Feeling very exposed, though there was no one around, she pulled the top down as far as it would go and stepped into the water. At the sensation of the hot water on her tired limbs, her breath left her in a low hiss of appreciation and her eyes closed. Finally, she could relax and maybe get some sleep tonight. Kagome promised to herself that she would only stay a few moments, and then sat back to enjoy the water.
For a long moment, the world dropped away and it was only her and the warmth that surrounded her. Her eyes began to droop and she snuggled into her folded arms, resting on top of a low stone that sat out of the water. Within seconds, she was asleep. She would have stayed this way until morning, had not the sensation of moving awoken her. She cracked her eyes open slowly, trying to get her bearings and was greeted with the fuzzy sight of white cloth. Vainly, she tried to open them further and look up at the person carrying her but her mind wouldn't cooperate. It seemed that all those long nights of sleeplessness had finally caught up with her. "Don't kidnap me, m'kay?" she ordered tiredly and was rewarded with the chest she laid against shaking slightly with might have been laughter. The man, for she knew it was male, didn't answer and she slipped back into her dreams. The next time she woke, it was because someone was shaking her.
"Kagome! Kagome, wake up!" said a voice that sounded like Shippo. Lazily, Kagome opened one eye and looked up at him, only to immediately shut it to block out the blinding light. Groggily, she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Shippo?" she asked hoarsely. "What is, is it time to go?" She was in her sleeping bag, properly dressed, and very much alone except for the five pairs of worried eyes watching her.
"Time to go?" Inuyasha barked loudly, "It was time to go hours ago! Do you have any idea what time it is, ya stupid girl?" Kagome sighed and looked up at the sky. She was surprised to find the sun quite high in the sky, almost to noon. Her eyes widened.
"Oh my god! Why did you guys let me sleep in so late?" She asked, scrambling to her feet, only to wobble and sit down again from dizziness.
"Let you?" Sango laughed, her voice strained. "We couldn't wake you at all. We thought something terrible had happened to you."Kagome tried to process this with her sleepy brain. Had last night been a dream? She had to know. Quickly, she made up her mind and turned to her friends.
"Oh guys, I'm so sorry to worry you, but I haven't been sleeping well lately and I think it's caught up with me. Do you think we could rest here for a little while longer, while I get some rest? I think something about this area is helping me sleep." Inuyasha opened his mouth, his face stormy, but Sango and Miroku beat him to it and quickly agreed. Out voted, Inuyasha left in a huff, leaving his friends to set up a proper camp that would last them a bit longer then one night. The whole day, Kagome felt as if she was floating on air. But in the back of her mind, the questions about last night still burned. Had it really happened? And if it had, who had brought her back to camp? Had it been a demon, a human? A ghost? Kagome shivered and wandered around camp on the pretense of finding firewood. She went as far as she could, but the hot spring was no where to be found.
That night, Kagome pretended to sleep as her friends nodded off one by one. When she was sure even Inuyasha was out completely, she quietly snuck out of the camp and tried to retrace her steps. After about half an hour of walking, the smell of sulfur once again tickled her nose and led her to a familiar hot springs that had definitely not been there by the light of day. Before getting into the water, she made a careful inspection, all around the pool, looking for footsteps. Nothing, there were no signs at all of any life besides her own. Slightly disappointed, she once again stripped to her top and waded into the water to settle on the same rock she had the night before. What had she been thinking about, before going to sleep? She asked herself. Frowning, she tried to follow her train of thought back to those last moments, struggling to remember. Warmth. She had been thinking about warmth and how the feel of the water was like arms around her. Without noticing, her eyes began to slid close and effortlessly, she feel asleep.
The first thought that popped into her mind was hands, or more importantly, that there was one on her. Not as tired as the night before, she opened her eyes and was started to find herself looking up into a pair of deep golden ones. Gasping, she straighted in her seat and pulled away from the demon in front of her. "Sesshomaru?" She asked in a half whisper, half shout. Sure enough, the inuyoukai stood in front of her, waist deep in water, bare chested, and watching her in silence. While the silence was not new, the look on his face was. He was watching her, his eyes focused and intense on her and the very idea that they might both be not wearing pants was enough to send her mind into overdrive. "Wait, what- I mean, you- how? What are you doing here, Lord Sesshomaru? I mean, here, with me, in a hot springs? Aren't you worried I might have tainted it with my human body?" She asked, not caring what she said as long as it got her questions answered. It was not to be, however, because for whatever reason, he did not answer her. Instead, he reached out lazily, and pulled her to his side with his one good arm. She squealed lightly in surprise and made an attempt to dodge him, but he brought her firmly up against his chest.
Kagome's brain stopped because the only thought going threw it was 'ohboyohboyohboy' over and over again, leaving no room to process the fact that Sesshomaru had casually leaned down and began to trail his lips lightly over her neck. When it did finally hit her, he had already moved on to her jaw and was lightly nipping at her earlobe. "Wait, Sesshomaru, what are you-?" She was cut off as his mouth moved gently over hers, his lips firm on her own. Her jaw dropped and Sesshomaru took the opportunity to push his tongue into her mouth, cutting off her air until she was in a gentle haze that consisted only of the two of them. Giving up on her answers, she tentatively kissed him back, even going so far as to meet his tongue with hers. Sesshomaru growled low in his throat, something that could have been good or bad, and he switched their positions, sitting on her rock and pulling her into his lap. In this position, Kagome was both relieved and disappointed to find that he was wearing his pants. Sitting sideways, the way she was, she was not pressed against him in quite the way her less reserved side wanted, but it did give him a nice hold on her hip, which was just as nice.
Finally, however, she pulled back for air and she panted for a moment while he watched her in silence. She waited, hoping he would say something to clarify the twilight zone she had apparently fallen into and maybe prove that this wasn't a really nice wet dream, but he didn't speak and made no sound what so ever. This left her with the sad conclusion that it really was a dream.
"I'm dreaming, aren't I, because there's no way this is real." she said aloud, her voice sad. His arm tightened around her, and she found herself pressed to his chest, her head on his shoulder, right next to his neck. She sighed as he up his chin on the top of her head. She tilted her head slightly to look up at him, trying to caught a glimpse in his otherwise stoic expression.
"No answer to that, hm? Oh well, I suppose I already know it." She sat there, not moving, and allowed the warmth from the water and the heat of his body to seep into her.
"Oh well. As far as dreams go, this is one pretty amazing one." Kagome smiled softly and fell asleep.
The next morning, she was once again in her sleeping bag. Stifling a sigh of disappointment, she sat up with her friends and helped make breakfast. Within the next hour, they were packed up and ready to go. They had just started down the road when Inuyasha suddenly grabbed his sword and swung it out, bristling at something in front of them. Kagome held her breath, suddenly aware of being watched. There, out of the trees, appeared Sesshomaru, dressed in all his glory, looking a bright and clean as snow. He wore his trademark expression and didn't seem to be focusing on any of them. He stopped in front of Inuyasha, silent.
"What'd ya want, Bastard? Because if it's my sword, you can't have it, dammit." Inuyasha barked. Sesshomaru, however, didn't seem interested. Instead of answering his brother, he side stepped him and continued towards the rest of them. Everyone but Kagome tensed as he stopped in front of her and reached into his armor. Kagome looked up at him, unsure if she should ask about last night and risk looking like a fool, or keep quiet. As it turned out, she didn't have to do a thing except gape, as Sesshomaru pulled out a pair of very familiar ducky pajama bottoms and handed them to her.
He reached out with one clawed finger and traced the edge of her jaw, a smirk on his face. "Amazing indeed." He said softly. Then he turned sharply and walked past the dumbstruck Inuyasha to disappear back into the forest. The tiny group was silent as they stared at the bright yellow ducks in Kagome's hands.
"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha demanded, the first to recover.
Kagome looked up from her pajamas. "A very nice dream, I think." She said quietly. Then she put the ducky bottoms into her bag, firmly refused to answer any more questions, and headed down the road without looking back to see if they were following her.
They were, of course.
000ooo000
THE END
a/n: So was it a Kagome's dream? Reality? A shared dream brought on by a magic hot springs? Thats for me to know and you to guess! Hope you enjoyed it!
Review Please! I want to know what I can to do to make my stories more interesting.