Chapter Text
Kagome clutched onto the stranger’s garb as he leapt her down from her tower at Nottingham Castle, hardly daring to believe her own boldness. What on earth possessed her to willingly join a stranger in the dark, taking her who knew where and why? Who was to say the man had honorable intentions? For that matter, what was so honorable about snatching strange women out of their private chambers?! And yet, she mused in bewilderment, somehow, she still felt so safe in his arms...
It was only after the man touched foot on the grass beyond the castle’s walls and began running on the firm ground when Kagome suddenly realized that the ominous red color that dyed the sky since last dawn was completely gone. The pearly white moonlight was illuminating the world once more.
She stared up at the sky, mouth slightly agape, then her eyes fell on her captor’s face, visible under the bright moonlight. She inhaled sharply, suppressing a squeal of alarm.
Was it the shock of readjusting to a normal moonlit sky again, or was this stranger’s hair made of starlight itself?
His long, silvery hair flowed behind him in the wind, no doubt long enough to reach his lower back. From his mouth, an elongated fang glinted in the light, and yes, indeed, her eyes were not playing tricks on her, his were indeed colored an amber hue! As Kagome continued her silent, stunned observations of her mysterious kidnapper, she realized that his hands had claws, too sharp and long to be considered human. His crimson attire gleamed blood red under the moonlight, a black cloak dramatically flying behind him. Although shocked beyond belief at who or what this man was, Kagome could not deny the sheer beauty of his form.
Her eyes rose up once more and suddenly noticed the final outward mark of his difference: a pair of triangular ears atop his head, matching the color of his silver-white hair.
“Didn’t your mother teach you it was rude to stare? My, what frightful manners you have, wench.”
Kagome’s slack jaw closed with a snap. Her eyebrows furrowed. “If we’re going to compare manners, I do believe kidnapping a young lady from her bed chambers is a greater offense.”
“Kidnapping? Now, that is too harsh, miss.” His tone was light, amused, something that both relieved and aggravated Kagome. “If I had ‘kidnapped’ you, the term implies a lack of wanting to come along, and I do believe you said ‘yes’ to my request.”
Kagome spluttered. “That was--!”
“A spur of the moment? No doubt it was. I suspected you’d comply without putting up a fight, even if you’re putting up pretenses now.”
“What are you-?”
But Kagome’s question was cut off when her captor alighted on the forest floor. Forest floor? She blinked and looked around. The thick foliage of dark, lurking trees, even more ominous and mysterious in the night, was all the affirmation she needed. They must be in Sherwood Forest!
The silver-haired man gently set her feet on the ground, and it took every bit of strength in Kagome not to sway and collapse after such an exhilarating ride. Straightening herself up and smoothing down her dress, she looked around. The forest was not completely pitch black as one was wont to believe, but rather softly illuminated by trails of moonlight, glistening amongst the shadows. They were standing in a small opening in the trees, quite thoroughly canopied by the Forest’s many long, entwined branches. Because of the thick protection, not much of the early spring sunlight had yet to shine through and melt the last remaining touches of winter, and so the entire small area was covered in a thick, soft blanket of snow.
It was like a pocket of time, clutching at the last season while the rest of the world melted and warmed.
Kagome shivered violently, suddenly very much aware that she was not dressed nearly appropriately enough.
Something warm and soft drooped over her shoulders. She turned her head, and gasped: red cloth! She spun around to stare at the stranger. He had removed the top half layer of his attire, except the cape which was clasped about his neck and did not require removal with the rest. Underneath, he wore a thin white tunic. It couldn’t possibly protect him from the climate, especially here, where winter’s dying breath lingered.
But by the gods, he did look extraordinarily handsome, standing there in the snow, the dark trees behind him, the silver sheen of his hair catching moonlight in patches.
“Won’t... won’t you catch a cold?” Kagome asked breathlessly, feeling unnaturally warm all over.
“Men like me do not ‘catch colds,’” was his only answer. His tone sounded less light now; there was an edge to it, one that made Kagome involuntarily step backwards.
She attempted to regain some control. “Well then, now that you have me here, pray tell me what you want from me? You could not possibly have spontaneously desired a moonlit stroll in the snow at midnight, with a total stranger, no less?” Her voice remained cool and steady, but her fingers clutched tightly onto the red robe about her shoulders.
He stared at her, his golden eyes glowing in the dark. Once again, Kagome was taken in by those eyes, and her resolve to find answers began to slip. She swallowed hard, licking her lips without thinking.
“Speak!” she demanded, a little too loudly.
The stranger’s eyebrows rose mockingly. “I did not realize I was addressing royalty,” he said with such biting sarcasm that Kagome recoiled as if she had been slapped.
“Perhaps not directly, but as good as!” she snapped, pride swelling up and overtaking her good senses. “I am the Lady Kagome Higurashi, the eldest and heir to the Higurashi clan--”
“I know exactly who you are, wench, and you ain’t royalty.”
Kagome’s face burned. She had never been one to flaunt her authority unless absolutely necessary, but this was ridiculous! “I beg your pardon, sir, but what was it you were saying earlier about manners?!”
“As far as I’m concerned any person fraternizing with that bastard Naraku is lower than the poorest of peasants.”
“You-!” Kagome’s comeback insult stopped in her throat. She stared at her accuser, utterly bewildered. “I-- fraternizing? … What on earth--?”
“I brought you here tonight, wench, because I want to know exactly who Naraku is to you – relation, ally, lover, I care not, just the truth – and what you are doing in Nottingham, because I know for a fact that the nearest Higurashis live at least twenty miles by the setting sun, and why the hell you helped that whelp in the market earlier today?”
As the silver-haired man spoke, every word dripping with intimidation and disdain, he stepped closer and closer to Kagome, who, startled and a bit frightened, backed up from his every inch of pursuit. Stumbling, she hurried back and back, half-listening to his words, sputtering incoherently at certain mentions (lover to Naraku? Good gods, that was precisely what she was trying to avoid whilst trapped under his thinly veiled hospitality!), until finally her back slammed against a large tree trunk. Her captor caught up to her before she could regain her breath, and pressed in close, his hands braced on both sides, trapping her in between.
Heart pounding wildly, Kagome’s already hot face scorched under the man’s intense gaze. She was cornered, and she just knew that even ducking under his arms would do no good. He wasn’t human, certainly not entirely, and she suspected that his strength in carrying her from her tower and light footing that nearly resembled flying must also be accounted for unnatural speed.
Courage, Kagome! Courage!
She mustered whatever gumption she had left in her, even with her legs losing all feeling, and glared up into the stranger’s eyes. Captivated once more by their intensity, she turned his power onto itself and used it to her benefit. Holding her head high, she jabbed a finger against his chest, holding his attention as she railed into him.
“For your information, you impertinent wretch, Lord Naraku is neither a relation, ally, friend of mine, and most certainly not my lover! He is my acquaintance at best, and an unfortunate side effect of being both of nobility and political higher standing, so my family is obligated to negotiate, discuss societal matters, and yes, even ‘call on him’ and visit like civilized people. My mother has been abed ever since she gave birth to my baby brother last month, and my father is loath to leave her side, thus it was unto I, the eldest child, to carry on the family tradition. It is a despicable job, to be sure, and I’d sooner stay with the dull Hojo clan down south than with that wretched Naraku, but it is my duty and I refuse to disappoint my parents!”
She caught her breath, triumphant to see his shocked face. She plowed on rapidly, determined to get everything out of her system before he intimidated her further.
“As for why I am in Nottingham, I have mostly answered for that, but there is more to it still: the Higurashi clan has connections with the abbey, and we always check to make sure that charities are running smoothly, that our attempts to help the less fortunate actually bear some fruit, so that the gods may smile down upon our work. Scoff if you like, it is the truth nonetheless! As for your final question, I haven’t the slightest idea how you witnessed my little excursion at the market this afternoon, as I’m quite certain I’d remember an onlooker with silver hair like yours, but in short: the child Rin was being falsely accused of stealing money, money that I had rightfully paid her for an apple, and I stepped in because it was my fault she was in trouble, even though she never should have been suspected in the first place!”
She stopped to take another breath, pushing her finger harder against him, and, to her surprise, actually caused him to stumble back at a pace. She stepped forward, her finger firmly in place, glowering up at him, the notable difference in their heights only spurring her irritation onward.
“And with all your questions answered, sir, would you mind telling me exactly why you kidnapped me – yes, kidnapped, circumstances be damned! -- and brought me in the middle of the haunted Sherwood Forest to interrogate me?! I suppose you’re going to feed me to the goblins or devils or whatever hellspawn that resides here!”
Silence settled, a smothering, dreadful thing that seemed to press all around them. Kagome became keenly aware of the possible danger she was in, let alone the oil she just spilled on the proverbial fire of the situation. Still, pride held out, and she remained in place, chin held up haughtily as she watched his face for any reactions.
For a moment, he looked frozen, stunned and speechless. His frightening aura earlier had dissipated completely, replaced with sheer bewilderment. Then, without warning, a huge smile cracked over his face and he burst out laughing.
Kagome blinked, too taken aback to move away, and in her confusion got swept up in a spinning embrace by the strange man. He continued laughing and laughing, deaf to her shrieks and squeals of alarm and demanded to be put down.
“By gods, woman, you are a remarkable creature!”
“Put me down-!”
“Here I was, half-convinced you were some concubine of Naraku’s--”
“Ugh, as if! Now, let me go--!”
“--and yet, here you are, spitting fire and showing claws beneath all that demure finery! I was right not to shoot at you--”
“Shoot at me?!”
“-- no way in hell am I handing you back now! What a woman!”
“Now, wait just one minute! I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME!”
He stopped spinning about sharply, still holding her above him, so she had to place her hands on his shoulders to hold steady. Both of them were breathing heavily, her from the sudden jarring movements, him from laughing too hard. Now at a standstill once again, Kagome’s heart skipped a beat, staring down into the strange man’s face, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight as he grinned mischievously.
If this was a story, he’d kiss me right now. Kagome’s sudden thought jolted her, making her involuntarily lean back from the stranger, as best as she could, given her position hoisted in the air by his embrace. Her face burned hotly; she wouldn’t have been surprised if her very presence melted the last remaining snow.
“Forgive me, I was too hasty.” He plopped her down on her feet in the snow and before she could protest further, sunk onto one knee and bowed his head, one arm swept dramatically across his chest in a comically delayed gesture of “introduction.”
“I am called Inuyasha, notorious troublemaker and outlaw of Nottingham, lord of Sherwood Forest, otherwise known as ‘the Prince of Thieves.’ The pleasure is all mine.” He grasped one of her hands and pressed his lips against her knuckles and said, with a rumble deep in his throat that sent shivers down her spine: “My lady.”
The Prince of Thieves! Kagome’s heart leaped in her chest.
“You’re... you’re Inuyasha?! That’s impossible!”
“In the flesh, my lady.” He flashed her a grin and stood up again, spreading out the cape with his arms. “Art thou impressed?” he asked in a mock formal fashion, but his smile looked genuine.
Kagome could only gape openmouthed, forgetting her previous irritation. This was beyond anger or frustration or absurdity. She must be dreaming! Yes, that must be it. Any moment, Yuka would be shaking her awake and she would begin her second morning as the Sheriff of Nottingham’s guest.
Because there was no way in the name of the gods that she was face to face with a legend.
The infamous thief of Nottingham had reached high levels of infamy as far as far away counties. For the past several odd decades, the name “Inuyasha” spread from sea to sea, a tale of terror or adventure depending on who told it. Kagome, being a nobleman’s daughter, was naturally more accustomed to the terrifying visage of Inuyasha’s mythical identity, but when she was a child, she overheard servants swap stories of the swashbuckling hero who robbed the corrupt rich. He was a symbol of “a rebel without a cause,” a man who stole for the sake of fun and adventure but never harmed the poor and down-trod. He became a fantasy, a romanticized outlaw, whose arrows and sword sent rich lords and ladies quaking in their beds.
But Inuyasha had been a character in tales from her grandfather’s time. At the very least, he should be the same age, elderly, decrepit, in the winter of his years...
She looked over Inuyasha once more. A man in his prime, nowhere near even the autumn of life. But then again, she mused, gazing at his clawed hands, silver hair, amber eyes, strange ears...
“What are you?” The question slipped out before she could stop herself. She only hoped he could catch her genuine curiosity, and not assume any cruel implications by the rude statement.
Something dark flitted in his eyes. Then, he smirked, one of his ears twitching playfully. “A freak.”
Kagome flushed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you, I just meant--”
“Cease with your apologies. I have lived long enough to know the difference between the cutting words of a hostile bastard and the careless question of the curious and naïve.”
Kagome opened her mouth and closed it again, confused.
Inuyasha’s mocking smirk melted a little; he offered her a small smile.
“I suppose I do owe you an explanation, do I not? Mother would be mortified to see how much my manners have slipped.” He laughed again, a short, loud one, and it sounded strangely similar to a dog’s bark, Kagome realized in shock.
Suddenly, she shivered as a cold wind cut through her. Inuyasha frowned.
“Let’s get out of here, before you catch your death.”
He strode forward, opening his arms in a surprisingly tentative gesture.
Blushing at the realization that she did not want this unexpected rendezvous to end, Kagome bit her lip, nodded her consent, and stepped between his waiting arms, breathless with anticipation over his proximity. She wondered for a wild moment how firm he looked underneath his tunic. Her face flamed even hotter. She grasped his shoulders, ready to be carried away, even as her mind turned to less appropriate thoughts, warming herself from head to toe...
Inuyasha scooped her up in bridal style and took a sharp leap into the air. Kagome gasped, hanging on tight; the last breath of winter swooped up with their ascent, blanketing them for a moment before Inuyasha broke past the forest’s canopy into clear, early spring air.
He remained perched atop a tree for a moment, adjusting Kagome in his arms. Though it must have been well past midnight by now, the bright return of the moon seemed to dye the land with a soft yet clear alabaster glow. The view of Sherwood Forest, the sleepy cottages of Nottingham village, and the dark expanse of Nottingham Castle looked breathtaking under the calm, pearly hue of the moon. And up above, the dark dome of the sky was peppered with countless stars, a glimpse of the perennial heavens themselves that mere mortals could never hope of reaching.
“Beautiful,” Kagome said softly.
“Yes,” Inuyasha whispered, but even from her peripheral vision, Kagome could tell that his gaze was not fixated on the landscape.
Abashed yet rather flattered, she ducked her face down, pointedly keeping her eyes decidedly away from his hypnotizing amber eyes. She wondered if she ever blushed so often in these past few hours than she ever had in her entire life.
Inuyasha cleared his throat and took another leap into the night air, this time descending over the edge of Sherwood until he alighted once more on the grassy fields. As he took off running, he began speaking, his voice barely making a break.
“Folks around here speak of ghosts, goblins, and the devil’s children that dwell in these woods. The old warn the young that leaving these accursed grounds would be unwise, because the terrors of Sherwood would surely come after them. Well, my lady, as I stated earlier, Sherwood Forest is my domain. I know every tree, every stone, every brook, every water hole. Sherwood is no more haunted than you have a second head.”
Kagome remained silent, holding onto his every word. There was something more captivating about a man’s words after his fame, practically mysticism, became known.
“I am ‘the devil’s child,’ the whispering ghoul and ghost of the trees, the frightening nightmare that has plagued peasants’ children since their parents’ parents were young, although I have never touched a hair on their heads.”
His tone took on a bitter lacing, one that cut Kagome to the quick. Despite her earlier embarrassment, she tightened her grip on the robe he had wrapped about her shoulders, keenly aware of their proximity as she remained nestled against his broad chest. He must have been so lonely, she realized, unconsciously nuzzling her head in compassion, willing him to understand her sympathy through her body language.
His tone softened. “I, Inuyasha, Prince of Thieves, am what I suppose you call a ‘half-demon.’”
“A half-demon?” Kagome echoed breathlessly.
“I’m only half-human. Neither one or the other. I have lived on this earth for over a century and had to bury my mother and... others I have known.”
Others? Kagome’s eyebrows creased slightly at the implication of his hesitation.
Inuyasha went on. “I am not alone, however. There are others like me, though they are scarce. It’s rarer still to find any that reach maturity, because few human mothers can birth an abomination and not have the abbey catch on and dispose of their blasphemous existences.”
“Do you mean,” Kagome said in horror, clapping a hand to her mouth, “that those babies get... k-kill--?”
“Naturally.”
“B-but it’s not their fault!”
“Is it not?”
Inuyasha fell silent, a pointed one, one that dared her to respond. Kagome suddenly felt the burden of her ‘Higurashi’ title crushing her shoulders, and said nothing, chewing on his words.
The silence between them carried on and suddenly, he ascended high up and landed once again in front of her chamber window.
There was a ledge, large enough to stand, and Kagome shakily placed her feet there as Inuyasha helped her down from his arms.
“Th-thank you,” she managed to gasp, feeling rather giddy by tonight’s events.
“My pleasure.”
For a moment, they stood facing one another, Kagome safe on the ledge, Inuyasha perched precariously a step below on the shingles of the tower (or at least, it would have been dangerous for an ordinary human). The moonlight shone down on them, and even the stars seemed to glow ever brighter.
Inuyasha, the Prince of Thieves did not look remotely human nor demon nor half-demon. He was a celestial being, a roguish yet handsome god walking among mortals. His long silver hair glimmered because his head was before the moon. His intense golden eyes seemed out of this world, the eyes of an ancient being.
Kagome suddenly felt very foolish, adorned in her evening gown of forest green and white trimmings.
She opened her mouth to say something, perhaps another show of appreciation or even an apology, but words never formed.
For in that very moment, Inuyasha leaned in and captured her mouth with his own.
At first, Kagome could only stare, her eyes wide open at Inuyasha’s closed eyelids. His eyelashes were long, she realized with a skip of a beat, between the roaring thundering in her chest.
His mouth was so warm, she thought, and when he moved away, she regretted the cold night air coming back in full force. She brought trembling fingers up to her lips, reveling in her stolen kiss, wishing she had time to close her eyes as well to savor the sweetness...
“Forgive me.” Inuyasha’s voice was hoarse yet controlled.
Kagome started, looking up at him in shock.
Inuyasha kept his eyes averted shamefully, but even under the cover of nighttime, his cheeks looked just as red as hers felt. “I was beyond myself. You just... looked so beautiful in the moonlight, so much like a goddess, that I just--”
Unable to bear it anymore, Kagome clicked her tongue in exasperation and reached out and jerked Inuyasha’s chin back to face her. He looked stunned as she glared up at him.
“There is nothing to forgive, sir, for it is only when a lady says ‘no’ that a gentleman must be obliged to halt his advances.”
The words hung between them before sinking in. Inuyasha’s eyes turned from surprised to boyishly triumphant. He tilted her chin up, his lips a breadth away from hers, their mouths parted slightly with a mutual unspoken hunger.
“And doth mine lady fair giveth her consent?”
Kagome licked her lips, already greedy for more, even as she whispered: “Verily, sir.”
And verily so, all chastity forgotten, did the newfound lovers find themselves wrapped tightly in an unspeakably passionate embrace.
Kagome was not new to kissing; she had her fair share of beaus in her teens, but they always gave chaste, soft, shy kisses. Not this wild, intense dive into a world of passion! Pressed against the tower’s stone wall, Kagome wrapped herself tightly around Inuyasha, trusting him not to let her slip, feeling his strong arms keeping her in place, while his hands wandered, daring to brush here and there, and lighting her very essence aflame. She felt parched, lost in a desert, and only Inuyasha’s lips against hers, only his hands grazing over her dress, seemed to quench that unspeakable thirst. He was her oasis and her scorching sun and her rough desert sand all at once.
His hands never crept underneath her dress, but the lingering touches spoke of an innate desire to explore. Once his fingers trembled as they ran over her concealed breasts; he laid his hand deliberately flat, only allowing the fingers to feel the swell and dip of her chest before sliding back down to her waist. Kagome did not lack notice of this, feeling both grateful for his self-control and rather disappointed that he didn’t take the step.
Suddenly aware of that dangerous thought, Kagome realized she had to put her foot down and not solely depend on Inuyasha’s honor.
“Sir, this has been enchanting, but I really must turn in for the night,” Kagome murmured, hating herself, as Inuyasha planted sweet kisses along her neck.
“My lady, you slay me,” Inuyasha groaned somewhere in the vicinity of her collarbone.
Kagome giggled, flushing hot red. “Really, sir, you were ever so gentlemanly a few moments ago--”
“And that was before my lady threw caution to the winds and giveth her consent.”
“‘Tis a sin to engage in licentious behavior without mutual desire, sir.”
Inuyasha raised his head and met her eyes again, his brow raised. “Is it not also a sin to be so intimate with a man you know so little about?”
Kagome licked her lips nervously. “‘Twas difficult to resist. Temptation is as powerful as she is persuasive.”
“Then, perhaps,” Inuyasha said slyly, leaning down to brush his lips against hers, “you ought to be persuaded more.”
“And be classified as a harlot and ruin my reputation? For shame, sir!” Kagome said coolly between kisses, her hands clasped tightly behind his head.
“You are a lady kissing a thief, under the cloak of moonlight before dawn’s rays break over the horizon,” Inuyasha said softly, tracing Kagome’s lower lip with his thumb, causing her to shiver. His eyes glistened as they locked eyes again. Then, he grinned cockily. “We are what poets dream about!”
“Pray, tell me why poets would find such fleeting madness worthy of immortalizing?” Kagome asked, her tone carefully mock-dignified, but her heart was thumping wildly.
“Did you not know, my lady? The greatest stories all have a moment of ‘fleeting madness.’ The hero slays the dragon, the princess runs away with a pauper, the queen drinks a potion for eternal beauty. A lady kisses a thief.” He pressed his lips against hers once more, breaking it off a moment too soon. “What will the story unfold now?”
They said nothing for a while afterwards, lost in each other’s embrace. It wasn’t until the moon disappeared and the sky grew a hazy grey, the light before the dawn, when they reluctantly parted at last.
Kagome let herself be led by hand to the threshold of her window, still reeling from the unbridled display of passion she had exhibited.
Quietly, she opened the latch and stepped down onto the cushioned window seat. “Thank you, Inuyasha,” she said, feeling suddenly rather shy and embarrassed, looking anywhere but at the man she had just done… that with.
But Inuyasha would not have it. He tucked her chin up and kissed her, brazenly, inside her very chambers. Somehow, being inside the walls of Nottingham’s Castle, as the sun barely began to creep over the horizon, the utter madness of the situation began to take hold.
“No, you mustn’t!” she squeaked, but his lips silenced her and she found herself unable to break away.
They held each other for a moment, Inuyasha half out the window, holding onto the ledge above his head for support, Kagome flushed against him, kissing him shamelessly while within her private chambers. Finally, they parted, gazing into each other’s eyes. Inuyasha’s golden eyes burned like the heart of a fire, scorching Kagome’s very soul and melting what little resolve she had left. She cupped his cheek, he leaned into it, kissing her palm gently.
“Good night, my lady,” Inuyasha said softly.
“Good morning, is more like it!”
Kagome whirled around while Inuyasha yelped and smacked his head against the window’s ledge.
Yuka, Kagome’s handmaiden, stood in front of the drawn curtains leading to Kagome’s bed chamber, fully dressed and bristling with vivid rage that could burn down the very foundations of the castle, glaring at the caught lovers.