Chapter Text
Oooooooooh fuck. You really messed up this time.
“Guuuuuyyyys? Can you hear me?!” Your voice rings hollowly as you yell at the pile of rock in front of you, blocking the way back. The trickle of dust and pebbles settling after a fall is your only answer, though you try to listen as carefully as possible.
Not a hint of another voice comes through from the other side.
Which would be impossible since you know that your companions would either be calling to you or bickering. Most likely bickering, if you were completely honest, given Inuyasha and Kagome’s regular squabbles.
Needless to say, the fact that you couldn’t make out any sound coming through the rocks meant one of two things: 1 – your friends were crushed to death by the cave-in, and now you’d starve to death while trying to find a way out.
Or 2 – they managed to get out of the way in time, but you ended up separated because you were a fucking idiot who froze in fear when you should have dove out of the way.
Either way, one thing you knew for sure: you were stuck and had no idea how to even begin to find a way back out to the surface. Clearing your throat, you tried again, stepping a little closer in the hopes that that might help, “Kagome? Sango? Can you guys hear me?!”
Aside from the echo of your voice, no other sounds could be heard from the other side.
Of course, this would happen to me, of all people! You mentally wailed, trying to keep your breathing even so you wouldn’t give in to a panic attack. You had to keep calm. If you freaked out, you’d only make your situation worse than it already was.
This was just your luck. You should have expected that something else would go wrong when this morning seemed like it would be such an amazing day. The universe seemed to enjoy making you suffer when you were already having a hard enough time.
First, you somehow end up transversing space and time to end up stuck in the past in one of your favourite shows from when you were a kid. Then you meet, befriend and begin travelling with the main characters, all in the hopes of finding some way back to your normal life.
Only to find out you can’t even pull a Kagome and go through the well to her present-day Japan, meaning you’re stuck in the feudal era. Which fucking sucks because you would have loooooved exploring Tokyo in the 1990’s.
But no. You’re forced to live during a time without running water, constant civil unrest, actual real-life youkai, and now a goddamned cave-in.
Can’t someone give a girl a break?!
Frustrated, you kick one of the bigger rocks nearly, only to almost leap out of your own skin when the entire wall shifted and threatened to fall once again, “Okayyyyyy, bad idea, let’s not touch the giant pile of debris,” You huffed, taking three big steps back – just in case.
You wouldn’t want to accidentally end up buried or partially trapped and have to gnaw your leg off to survive. The chances were slim, but they were never zero. Trying not to sink into despair, you turned, intending to see if the other end was blocked off too-
Only to nearly slam face-first into a cold metal chest plate.
Yelping, you stumbled back in shock, nearly tripping over your feet, “Whoa-who the fuck-?!” Snapping your eyes upwards, you felt your blood run cold when you came face to face with cold, golden eyes.
Shit – could your day have gotten any worse? Of course, you had to get stuck with one of the assholes who caused this cave-in in the first place. And of course it had to be Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha’s full youkai half-brother, who hated (or at least intensely disliked most) humans.
Blinking a little stupidly, you tried to wrap your head around your situation. As far as you remembered, there was no way you and Sesshoumaru should have been in the same space, so why the heck was he here with you?
Wait. That’s not the most important thing to be worried about right now. Sesshoumaru could easily kill you if you pissed him off – and unlike with Inuyasha, this guy didn’t have Kagome yelling ‘Sit, boy!’ to save you from his potential wrath.
Your despair kept rising, causing you to freeze after stammering his name in surprise. Slit pupils watched you with a quiet intensity that made your skin crawl, unnerved by the taller and no doubt stronger man you were stuck with.
Gods, you wanted to scream. Would he kill you if you screamed? Surely the great demon lord would permit you one frenzied yell into the void to release the anxiety clawing at your throat!
“It seems we are trapped,” The silver-haired man breaks the silence, his impassive gold gaze sweeping over the blockage behind you. Slit pupils narrowed as Sesshoumaru studied the cave in, sheathing his sword as he did so.
You released the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding in once the handle made a small ‘snkt’ sound, indicating the blade was fully sheathed, “Oh! Uh, yeah… it-it seems we’re kind of left to our own devices, uh… sir?” Fucking kill me now, oh my god, you thought, barely biting back a wince at your stuttering.
Thankfully, Sesshoumaru seemed unbothered – or he was just ignoring you. After studying the pile of rocks for just a minute, he huffed and turned on his heel, beginning to walk in the opposite direction without another word.
It took a second before you reacted, scrambling to follow him (after only glancing back at the rubble behind you once), “H-Hey, wait up, uhm, is it alright if I come with you?” Wooooowwwww, way to feel like a weirdo loser by asking if you can follow him.
Like you had a choice, though. If you wanted to get the hell out of this crazy cave system, sticking with Sesshoumaru was your best option.
When he didn’t respond negatively, you took that as a sign that he would at least tolerate your presence for now. Or maybe he just didn’t care, you mused, hanging back and letting the youkai lord lead the way.
Trying to distract yourself so you wouldn’t start yapping Sesshoumaru’s ears off and risk getting him mad, you took the opportunity to study him from this close up. Before today, you’d only ever seen Sesshoumaru from a distance a handful of times, and usually, he never even glanced your way.
Even from a distance, you’d never been able to handle the overwhelming otherworldly energy that seeped from him. Yet, you could never take your eyes off him whenever he did appear, something you felt too ashamed to admit to yourself.
You’d always thought that he was both awe-inspiring and terrifying every time he popped up. His beauty is captivating, but you would neverrrrrrr have been bold or dumb enough to say something like that out loud. You’d just think it – and admire him quietly, while hoping that you never accidentally slipped up around your companions.
There was only one time you’d ever mentioned how pretty you thought Sesshoumaru was when Kagome and Sango asked you what kind of man you ‘liked’. Your exact words, kind of distracted while keeping an eye on some nearby bushes for that goddamned perv Miroku, had been “Uh, the uhhh… pretty type, like Sesshoumaru, I guess?”
What had shocked you, then, wasn’t spotting Miroku and having to throttle him for peeping again while you and the other girls bathed. It had been how Sango and Kagome both reacted like they were horrified you’d like someone ‘like Sesshoumaru’.
Granted, they’d been around longer and had been in a lot more conflicts with the youkai before you joined them. The stories they had told you about him had been unbelievable – I mean, really, turning into a giant fuck ass dog? You’re not gullible – but you’d taken them to heart… for the most part.
It’s just that he didn’t at all seem bothered with anyone aside from his brother. If you and the others stayed out of the way, Sesshoumaru didn’t even spare a glance at any of you. You only end up dragged into the fight because of two major factors:
- Jaken decides to fuck around and attack your group to show his loyalty and keep Kagome, Sango or Miroku from lending Inuyasha a hand.
- Or the others decide to stick their noses into Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru’s business, which ends up exacerbating the situation.
At least they tended to ship you and Shippo off on Kirara any time a fight broke out. But that’s just kind of the normal state of things, since you couldn’t fight, and Shippo was a child.
Granted, Sango and Kagome are both younger than you as well, but you’re just gonna ignore that factoid so you don’t end up depressed about your ‘usefulness’ again.
Anyway – suffice to say, despite how terrifying Sesshoumaru is, there was something about him that just drew your attention. Strong, handsome, stoic, everything about the youkai piqued your interest whenever he showed up. From the first moment you locked eyes with him, there was just something about him that lingered in your mind.
The dreams didn’t help either. You swore you had never had as many recurring dreams in your life since the first time Sesshoumaru popped into your life. You could never quite remember what they were about, but they plagued your sleep regardless.
You couldn’t even count the number of times you’d wake up early in the morning, sweaty, heart racing and inner thighs sticky. Vague flashes were the only things you’d be able to remember, but the intensity (for lack of a better word) stuck with you.
The only reason you know the dreams were about Sesshoumaru is because those images were always about him. his hands, his eyes, lips, markings, long silver hair – it made no sense why these images were seared into your memory every morning, but till now you hadn’t been able to escape them.
Deep in your thoughts, you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings and tripped over a rock in your path, “Ah-!" You yelped, arms flailing as you stumbled, trying to right yourself. Unfortunately, you misstep again, feeling the floor slip out from under you.
A squeal of fright leaves your throat, your body pitched forward, almost hitting the ground. Luckily, though, your hand connects with an unfamiliar, cool, rough palm. Instinctively, you latch on, head jerking up to once again lock eyes with Sesshoumaru.
His face is much closer this time as he lifts you with incredible strength, helping you with one, easy movement back to your feet, “What-I-why did you-?” Shocked at this turn of events, you don’t even realise how tightly you’re still holding onto the Youkai’s hand.
Mentally, you were too busy reeling that Sesshoumaru had bothered to turn around and help you. Holy shit – was this the day that pigs sprouted wings and learned to fly?! What the fuck?
Instead of answering your bewildered sputtering, you saw Sesshoumaru’s gaze slowly drag up and down your form. Was he… checking if you were injured?
Holy shit, your heart was beating so hard right now!
“U-uhm! Sorry!” You squeak, tearing your eyes off the handsome man and bowing quickly, only belatedly realising you were still holding his hand, oh hell, “I-I wasn’t paying attention and made you stop your progress! I promise it won’t happen again!”
Aside from the echo of your voice, silence filled the space between you, which just made you feel even more embarrassed. And terrified! You have no idea how he’s going to react to your clumsiness – what if he gets angry and leaves you behind? Surely he wouldn’t be that cruel and kill you for tripping, right?
Gods, you felt like you were going to hurl. The silence seemed to stretch on, and you could feel Sesshoumaru’s cold glare bearing down on your bent form. Your nerves made you shiver slightly, wondering what he would do and why're you still holding his hand?!
Before you could snatch it away and utter another apology, Sesshoumaru tightened his grip and hummed curiously, “Odd. So fearful and yet you choose to follow regardless,” If you didn’t know better, you’d have sworn he almost sounded… amused at your plight.
Unsure how to respond or if you were supposed to explain yourself, you remained silent. Luckily, it didn’t seem that Sesshoumaru expected an answer, using his grip on your hand to pull you upright, “Come. We have little time to linger. Mind your steps,” He commanded, finally releasing your hand from captivity after giving it one last squeeze.
You were so surprised by his actions that you stood there, frozen for a few seconds, just watching Sesshoumaru as he turned and began walking once more. What the fuck was that about?! You mentally screamed, shaking your head to snap out of your shock.
Seeing that Sesshoumaru was already several strides ahead, you scrambled to follow, “Ah, wait up!” You exclaimed, jogging to catch up with him in just a few seconds.
This time, you walked behind him a lot closer than you initially did, a part of you no longer as on guard. Now that Sesshoumaru had seemingly accepted your presence (for the time being, anyway), you thought it more appropriate to stay close to him.
Thankfully, it seemed that he wasn’t in too great a rush, because you were easily able to keep pace with your impromptu companion.
Silence descended between the two of you once more, but it wouldn’t last long. “So… do you have any idea where we’re supposed to go?” You hesitantly asked, glancing at Sesshoumaru’s face to try and read his expression, just in case your question annoyed him.
His expression remained stoic, which you didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. “No,” He responded simply, and while you waited for him to elaborate further, you noticed the slightest twitch of Sesshoumaru’s nose, “But there is an exit at the end of this tunnel.”
Right. He must have smelled fresh air coming in from somewhere - or something like that. However, getting out of the mountain was only half the problem. How were you going to contact Kagome and the others? Ideally, if you were going to wait for a rescue operation, you’d stay in place while waiting for help or return to the start of your trail.
It’d be even better if you could find the spot where you entered the mountain with the others, but… You had no clue where that was. For all you knew, you could be exiting on the other side of the mountain, or at a higher or lower point.
You hummed while nodding, sucking in your cheeks while thinking. Glancing at Sesshoumaru, you hesitated for only a moment before speaking again, “Oh, okay… and, uh… and then what?” Your question made the youkai’s gaze flicker in your direction.
Unnerved by his attention, you didn’t look him in the eye as you continued, “I-I mean, we’ll still be separated from the others, and it’s not like they’ll be outside waiting for us soooo…” You trailed off, wincing when you heard him make a small ‘hm’ at your observation.
Okay, did that mean he was irritated, and you should shut up, or was that a ‘I’m thinking wench please hush’ kind of hum?
“Ah-Uhn will know where to lead Jaken and Rin,” Sesshoumaru said as if it were obvious what would happen. Ah-Uhn… was the dragon-horse thing Rin rode on whenever you and his group crossed paths, right?
You barely managed to stop yourself from making a face, doubting the man walking just slightly ahead of you, “However, I doubt your… companions-“ Hey, is it just you or did Sesshoumaru’s lips just twitch derisively, “-would follow mine. You will have to find them on your own.”
I mean, fair enough, but why did you get the feeling that he liked your friends a lot less than he minded you?
No, it couldn’t be. You were just assuming things based on fragmented dreams about a guy you didn’t actually know, “Right, uhm, I figured that might be…” You mumbled, shoulders slumping with a sigh.
Well shit. You didn’t want to just wander around on a mountain yelling for them. I mean, there are other dangerous youkai around for crying out loud – that’d practically be a death wish!
Man… times like this, you really miss the tracking abilities of a smartphone.
You hadn’t noticed Sesshoumaru had slowed just a little more, so you were walking side by side now. He continued to study you while you got lost in thought, intensely scrutinising you as if to commit your form to memory. You didn’t notice the slow way he inhaled your scent, like he was savouring its presence for when you would be parted once again.
And you most certainly hadn’t paid attention to the fact that your body had automatically meandered closer to his while you walked. Not until the silken brush of his haori against your arm pulled you from the mental spiral your brain was threatening to go into.
Flinching, you felt your face burn as you looked up to see him staring at you, squeaking in shock, “Ah, s-sorry, let me just-“ You were about to pull away from him, but the odd fluff around his amputated shoulder moved, pulling you closer.
Speechless, you just kind of… let it happen. Looking up at Sesshoumaru, then to the fur, then back to him, you felt like your heart had lodged itself in your throat. This time, you were unable to tear your eyes away from his, the gleam in his gaze still unreadable but… different.
Very, very different.
Swallowing thickly, you watched as his eyes flickered to your lips and back again, his pupils just barely dilating with what you thought might have been interest. Your entire nervous system felt like it was running on overdrive, shooting hot sparks through your synapses.
The energy between the two of you fizzled with electricity, and though you’d never been one to believe in fate, this moment felt like it was meant to happen. For a second, you could swear that the youkai lord was going to swoop in and kiss you, his face coming closer, closer.
“You should be more careful,” Sesshoumaru said, pulling away at just the right moment and turning his attention back to the winding tunnel before you, “These caves have many pitfalls. It would be best to stick close,” You nodded mindlessly, your brain still trying to catch up with what had just happened, noting that his fur was still holding you close to his side.
Holy shit… holy shit, what was that?! What the hell just happened?!
You remained silent while screaming on the inside as the two of you walked further along. You could feel the soft warmth of the fluff against your back, gently nudging you along to keep pace with Sesshoumaru. You would have thought that a man as standoffish as him would have run cold, but this was… surprisingly comfortable.
Your stomach felt tight like it had twisted itself into a knot, making you feel short of breath. Every brush of his haori against your side made your skin tingle, dizzying your already confused senses. A woody, masculine scent hung in the air, spicy, tempting, and fuck, you’d dreamed of it before, hadn’t you?
You wondered if you had completely lost your mind. You didn’t know how much time had passed as it all seemed to blur together, but you did notice (much to your embarrassment) hot, sticky wetness between your thighs.
You begged whatever deity might be listening and laughing at your plight that Sesshoumaru’s sense of smell wouldn’t pick up on that.
If he did, he luckily said nothing, sparing you any further humiliation. ‘The moment I find a way back home, I need to go out and get laid,’ You mentally bemoaned, trying to ignore the throbbing in the pit of your belly.
Damned dreams. Damned cave-in. Damned sexy Sesshoumaru holding you close like he would protect and take care of you. You needed to get the hell away from him unless you’d explode.
You were so focused on trying to wrestle your reactions under control, you hardly noticed when the tunnel suddenly opened to a large cavern. You were snapped out of it, however, when Inuyasha’s familiar voice suddenly rang out, “You get your hands off’a her!”
With barely a moment to react, you felt Sesshoumaru push you back as he met his brother’s brandished sword with his own. A sharp, metallic clang rang out, filling the cavern with this cold, hollow echo that doused the heated lust in your body in three seconds flat.
You stepped back quickly with a gasp, confusion, and fear quickly giving way to anger, “Hey! Watch where you’re swinging that damn thing, Inuyasha!” You snapped at the realisation that he’d stupidly attacked Sesshoumaru while you were still next to him!
The dog-eared man only responded with a growl, which Sesshoumaru matched. You felt his fur brush against your back one last time before pulling away to wrap tightly around the youkai. You didn’t think much about it as you hopped away from the fight, rushing to get out of the fray.
Kagome called your name, “Over here! This way!” She waved you over, and you hurried to get to her, concerned that Sango, Miroku, Kirara and Shippou weren’t with her.
The moment you were within arm’s reach, Kagome grabbed you and pulled you into a tight hug, “Oh my god, we were so worried about you! Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?!” Pulling away, she turned you this way and that, searching you for injuries.
“N-No, no, I’m fine, he didn’t even lay a finger on me!” You were quick to reassure the younger girl, lying on a technicality without any shred of guilt, “Where are the others? Did the cave in separate you?”
Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted as Inuyasha rushed back to you and her, “We can play catch-up later!” He barked, hoisting you and Kagome beneath an arm each, “C’mon, let’s get outta here!” With a huff of effort, he barely avoided one of Sesshoumaru’s blows-
But ended up falling into the huge fuck-off hole in the cavern’s centre, “W-wait, hold on, noooooooo-!” You shrieked as you plummeted, barely catching one last glimpse of Sesshoumaru, eyes blood red with rage.
He swiftly disappeared, though, as gravity tugged you and your companions down, you and Kagome screaming all the way.
At the edge of the hole, Sesshoumaru watched, chest heaving for breath as he tried to cool the burning anger coursing through his veins from his brother’s interruption, “That damn Inuyasha,” He hissed, sheathing Tensaiga while glaring at the darkness below.
He would have jumped down to follow if the familiar jingle of Ah-Uhn’s slow steps and Jaken’s screech didn’t stop him, “Sesshoumaru-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama!” The imp cried, swinging his staff wildly before prostrating himself in greeting.
Holding back a sigh, Sesshoumaru forced his instincts back to think logically. If he went down now, he and Inuyasha would only pick the fight back up where it had just left off. He’d already gotten more than what he’d planned for – still, it was a shame his time with you had been cut short.
Still, it would be better to pull back and regroup. There would be plenty more times Sesshoumaru could separate you from your companions. He needed only to be patient and bide his time.
Turning to face Jaken, Rin and Ah-Uhn, Sesshoumaru ignored the imp’s questioning, “Let us leave,” He said, picking one of the many caves that led out of the mountain’s hollow centre. He will see you again soon. Tonight’s dream would be the prime opportunity to take out his frustration, Sesshoumaru mused.
Pulling his mokomoko closer around his shoulders, Sesshoumaru inhaled deeply, savouring your scent as if it were the finest wine. Next time, he’d make sure to separate you from your group so they wouldn’t be able to interrupt again.