InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All Things Come Full Circle ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10

It took a few days for the group to get back to Kaede’s village, and everyone was happy to finally get a break.

After a visit to Kaede, Kagome announced that she was going home, and for once Inuyasha had no complaints. He walked her to the well, and with a quick kiss and ‘see you later’, Kagome was gone.

Inukigo noticed that Inuyasha wasn’t all that depressed this time around, but later discovered the reason as to why. It was just getting dark when he announced to her that he would be spending the night with Kagome on the other side of the well. Inukigo took the opportunity to tease him lightly, reminding him not to partake in certain ‘activities’. Inuyasha had blushed furiously and tried to form a come back, but Inukigo laughed and patted his head, saying ‘see you tomorrow’. He huffed, muttered a ‘ja ne’, along with something about having an evil sister, and jumped down the well.

That had been the previous evening, and now it was nearing midday. Inukigo sat against the well, completely and utterly bored. Everyone seemed to have something to do except her. She had even found herself hoping that Kouga would come by and keep her company. She had blushed and shook her head to clear that thought. She wasn’t that fond of the guy…right…?

Inukigo turned and rested her arms on the lip of the well, laying her head atop of them while she looked down into it’s depths. The well still confused her. How could a well used for the disposal of youkai remains in this time serve as a portal to 500 years in the future?

She leaned up further, sniffing and scrunching up her nose. There was an odd smell emanating from the well. It wasn’t something that she was familiar with, and it wasn’t all that pleasant. Having nothing better to do, Inukigo decided to go down and investigate. She stood up and jumped down into the well. She expected to hit the dry bottom of the well, which was why her eyes shot open in panic when she found herself floating and engulfed by a magical blue light…

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Inuyasha was sitting high in the Goshinboku, looking out over the city of Tokyo. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to Kagome’s world. There were just so many people, and everything was so big. Then there was the fact that there were no forests. The only thing left of his once vast forest was the small grove of trees that surrounded the shrine. Kagome had assured him that there were trees in other places as well, in parks and in more rural areas outside of the city, but it wasn’t the same. He sat back against the trunk of the tree, trying not to be depressed by how much his world was going to change.

Just as he was getting comfortable, he felt a familiar tingling in his spine, one he had come to associate with the activation of the well. He turned his gaze on the well house in confusion. No one but he and Kagome could go through the well, and they were both already on this side. Had someone come through from the past?

Inuyasha quickly leapt down from the Goshinboku and bounded to the well house, throwing open the door. There was no one in sight, but then he heard a groan coming from the bottom of the well. Then a familiar smell made it’s way to his nose.

“Inukigo?”

He got a groan in reply as he walked down the steps to the well. Before he got there, he saw Inukigo’s hands grasp the lip of the well and then her head as she pulled herself up. That was as far as she got. She then braced her arms on the well and rested her head on them. Inuyasha just stared at her.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Inukigo didn’t look up at him, so he crouched down on his haunches so he was eye level with her.

“I don’t know,” she replied groggily, “Where’s here?”

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her.

“Kagome’s world. You know that’s where the well leads,” he then took a good look at her face, “Hey, are you alright? You don’t look so good.”

Inukigo didn’t answer, instead raising one arm and doing her best to cover her nose and mouth.

“Kami, Inuyasha what’s that awful stench?” her face suddenly turned pale and she clenched her eyes shut, “I think I’m gonna be sick…”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened at her announcement. He quickly stood and grabbed her under the arms so he could pick her up. In his panic, he never thought to bring her back down through the well. Being careful not to jostle her too much, he sprinted off towards the house as quickly as he could. He had a feeling he knew what was making her ill.

Reaching the house, he pulled open the shoji, then shut it behind him as he darted in. He quickly ran through the house before stopping at the doorway of the kitchen, where he startled Mama Higurashi, who was just getting ready to start making dinner.

“Inuyasha!” she exclaimed, a hand on her chest. She then took notice of the young hanyou girl that the boy was carrying, “Who is this?”

Inuyasha shook his head.

“No time. She says she’s gonna be sick.”

Mama’s eyes widened.

“Quickly, dear. Bring her to the bathroom upstairs. I’ll be up in a moment.”

Inuyasha nodded then turned around and took off towards the stairs. He was up them in one leap and then dashed down the hall towards the bathroom. Once inside he spotted his destination and quickly carried Inukigo over to the toilet, kneeling her down in front of it. She just sat there for a few seconds, one hand covering her mouth while the other wrapped around her stomach. Her eyes clenched tight and Inuyasha noticed her urge. He quickly placed a hand on her back, directing her towards the toilet where she proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach. Inuyasha grimaced, rubbing her back comfortingly. When she finished retching she sat back and leaned heavily against Inuyasha, panting in an attempt to catch her breath. Inuyasha knew that this was going to do more harm than good.

He was surprised when a wet washcloth was held out in front of his face. He looked up at Mama as he took the cloth from her, he hadn’t even heard her enter the bathroom. He nodded his thanks, then turned and wiped over Inukigo’s face with the cool cloth. She grunted then cracked her eyes open when he passed the cloth over her forehead. She really didn’t look very good. He then turned towards Mama.

“Where in the house has the best air?”

She looked at him, confused by his choice of words.

“Best air?”

Inuyasha nodded.

“Yeah. Where there are the fewest scents from outside.”

“Oh,” she said, understanding what he meant, “There’s an air filter in the living room. It would probably be best there,” she explained, taking the cloth from him, “You go ahead and take her there. I’ll get a few things ready and be down in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” he replied, picking Inukigo up again when he discovered that she was completely incapacitated.

He made his way back downstairs at a more normal pace, where he walked to the living room and sat down on the floor with Inukigo still in his arms. Her eyes were partly opened, but he wasn’t sure if she was comprehending anything that she was seeing. If she had been only ‘kind of’ out of it before, she was totally out of it now.

‘Is the air here really that bad?’ he wondered, for once being thankful that he didn’t have her nose. He usually envied her extremely sensitive sense of smell, she could pick up the tiniest traces of a person’s scent, but now was not one of those times. The air in Kagome’s time did bother him a bit, he could only imagine what it must be like for Inukigo. It was obviously enough to make her sick.

He was brought out of him musings by the sound of footsteps, and turned to see Mama entering the living room, carrying a spare futon. She set it up on the floor and Inuyasha set Inukigo on it, stretching her out on her stomach. She seemed to be looking slightly better, but she was no where near aware of her surroundings. Mama left the room again, then returned with a basin and cloth, setting it down near Inukigo’s head. She sat down herself, looking at Inukigo worriedly. Inuyasha then recalled that he had just blown by her without explaining who Inukigo was.

“Gomen, Higurashi-san. This is my sister, Inukigo. I’m sure that she would introduce herself…but she doesn’t seem to be fully conscious.”

Mama smiled at him softly.

“It’s perfectly alright, Inuyasha. I had assumed this was the sister that you and Kagome mentioned. She looks very much like you. I am confused though. I thought that only you and Kagome could go through the well.”

Inuyasha’s brows furrowed in thought.

“So did I. I don’t know how she managed to get through. I’ll have to ask her when she comes around.”

Mama nodded. Inukigo groaned, drawing the attention of both her caretakers.

“What made her so ill?” Mama wondered out loud.

“The air overloaded her senses,” Inuyasha explained.

“The air?” Mama questioned.

Inuyasha nodded.

“Aa. It’s all the pole-lution, or whatever in the air. It smells pretty bad, and she has a really sensitive nose.”

“I see,” Mama said, laying a hand on Inukigo’s forehead, “Poor dear.”

Inukigo’s eyes clearly slightly and opened a little wider at the feeling of a hand on her forehead. She glanced up to see the kind face of the woman smiling down at her warmly.

‘Who?’ she didn’t realized that she said the question out loud as well as think it.

Mama kept smiling.

“I’m Kagome’s mother. I’ve heard about you, Inukigo.”

Inukigo blinked up at her curiously before closing her eyes and snuggling her face against the futon below her and drifting off to sleep.

“Will she be alright?” Mama asked, turning to Inuyasha.

“Yeah,” Inuyasha replied, “She’ll probably be out of commission for the rest of the day though.”

Mama nodded her understanding, then stood up.

“You stay here and keep an eye on her. I’ll go finish making dinner. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“Alright,” Inuyasha agreed.

Mama left the room, and a few minutes later Inuyasha could hear her in the kitchen. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there watching Inukigo until he heard her groan and saw her start to open her eyes. She still didn’t seem to be very comfortable and he rubbed her back to help sooth her. Inukigo sighed and shifted around so she was lying on her back. Inuyasha looked into her eyes and saw that she was at least aware now.

“Hey, feeling better?”

Inukigo draped an arm over her eyes.

“Yeah, somewhat,” she managed to answer, “Kami, when was the last time I was sick?”

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment.

“It was before Ofukuro died. I think you ate something bad.”

Inukigo nodded then groaned again.

“My head hurts.”

Inuyasha reached for the basin, then put the cloth in the cool water and wrung it out.

“Here,” he said, moving her arm away and placing the cloth on her forehead, “Better?”

Inukigo grunted affirmatively. Inuyasha waited a few moments before speaking again.

“Inukigo, how did you get here?”

Inukigo shrugged and kept her eyes closed as she answered.

“I don’t know. There was this weird smell coming up from the well, and I was bored, so I decided to see what it was. I didn’t think it was going to let me through. And then I got on this side and picked up that awful smell…what was that?” she asked, opening her eyes to look up at him.

“It was the air here,” Inuyasha replied.

“The air?”

Inuyasha nodded.

“Yeah. There’s stuff in this world that puts a lot of bad scents into the air.”

“I see.”

“I wonder how you managed to get through the well,” Inuyasha thought out loud.

Inukigo gave no comment and remained silent.

A few moments later a call came from the kitchen.

“Inuyasha, dinner is ready if you want any. There’s plenty for your sister too, if she’s hungry.”

“Want anything?” Inuyasha asked as he stood up.

Inukigo removed the now warm washcloth from her forehead, then rolled over to lay on her stomach again

“No, tell her I said thank you though.”

Inuyasha grunted and bent over to pat her on the shoulder, then turned and walked out of the room towards the kitchen. Mama was placing dishes on the table and turned to look at him entering the room.

“Will Inukigo be joining us, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha shook his head.

“No. She’s not feeling up to it. She said thanks though.”

Mama nodded and continued what she had been doing while she spoke.

“Does she still feel very ill?”

“No,” Inuyasha replied, thinking of how to explain, “Her head’s pretty messed up though. That’s what tends to happen when our sense of smell gets overloaded.”

“Has that ever happened to you before, Inuyasha?” she asked, setting down the last bowl on the table.

Inuyasha took his seat before replying.

“Yeah, but never that bad before. Never enough to make me sick to my stomach like that.”

“I see,” Mama said, “I suppose then it’s a true testament to how badly we have polluted our world in this era.”

Inuyasha didn’t answer and began eating. After a few mouthfuls, he noticed that someone was missing.

“Ooi, where’s the jiji?”

“I called him already, he should be down in a moment,” she paused in her meal, and looked as though she was in deep thought.

“What is it?” Inuyasha asked.

“Well, I was just thinking…ji-chan would have to walk by the living room to come in here. I don’t suppose he would pay any mind to-”

“GAH!! DEMON!”

Both Inuyasha’s and Mama’s eyes whipped to the door, then each other, and both of them got up and darted off towards the living room. When they reached the scene of the commotion, there was grandpa, circling Inukigo and crying ‘demon be gone’ while throwing ofudas at her. Inukigo didn’t look amused. She sat on the futon with her hands over her ears, probably to block the cries of the old man from penetrating her throbbing head, with a very pissed off yet groggy look on her face.

Inuyasha was about to step forward and put a stop to it, when an ofuda managed to plant itself dead centre on Inukigo’s face. She closed her eyes and a deep, threatening growl began emanating from her chest. Before Inuyasha could stop her, Inukigo exploded.

“What in the HELL do you think you’re doing old man!!” she bellowed, causing ji-chan to freeze in his tracks. He slowly prepared to throw the ofuda that he was holding at her, but she would have none of it. She whipped the useless piece of paper from her face and rose up on her knees to stare him down. She teetered a little at first because her balance was off, but quickly righted herself.

“Don’t you dare throw that at me, you old geezer! I suggest you put away those useless pieces of paper right now and leave me the fuck alone. I am not in a tolerating mood,” she snarled.

Before ji-chan could decide whether to heed her warning, Mama had stepped in between the two with her hands on her hips facing him.

“That is quite enough, ji-chan,” she said in a no nonsense tone.

“But, I was just exorcising the demon-”

“This young girl is Inuyasha’s sister and our guest, you will be doing nothing of the sort. Now, go to the kitchen before your dinner gets cold.”

“But-”

“Now. I will not have you bothering this poor girl while she isn’t well.”

Ji-chan didn’t look too happy, but complied anyway, slipping the remaining ofudas into his kimono and stalking out of the room, mumbling about demons invading his shrine. Mama sighed and turned to see Inuyasha kneeling beside his sister trying to calm her down while picking the numerous ofudas out of her hair.

“I’m sorry, Inukigo,” she said, kneeling down in front of the siblings, “I should have realized sooner what his reaction would be if he saw you.”

Inukigo looked at the woman and smiled, despite her apparent dizziness.

“It’s alright, Higurashi-san. I’m sorry I lost my temper,” she apologized, remembering Inuyasha’s reprimand about cursing in front of Kagome’s mother and grandfather.

“Think nothing of it dear. I know ji-chan can be a little…excitable. And you’re not feeling well, so I’d imagine that you wouldn’t want to deal with him.”

Inukigo lowered her head slightly and blushed.

“Arigatou, Higurashi-san.”

Mama smiled and stood up.

“Are you sure you won’t join us for dinner?”

“I’m sure,” Inukigo replied, “Thank you, but I think I’ll stay in here for a while longer, until my senses adjust.”

“Alright then. I’ll save some for you to have later.”

Inukigo nodded and Mama left the room. Inuyasha waited until Mama was out of hearing range until speaking.

“If your head wasn’t messed up already, I’d throttle you.”

Inukigo glared at him indignantly.

“What for?”

“For not holding your temper around Kagome’s family.”

Inukigo sent him a sly looking grin.

“Oh, I get it. You’re afraid that I’ll embarrass you in front of your intended mate’s fam-ymph-”

Inukigo was cut off by Inuyasha’s hand clamping down over her mouth.

“Shh! Don’t say that too loud,” he hissed in a whisper.

Inukigo glared at him, and Inuyasha took it as a sign to remove his hand.

“What’s your problem? Why can’t I say it?” she looked at him curiously. Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably and kept his eyes off her. Realization dawned on Inukigo.

“You didn’t tell them, did you?”

Inuyasha flinched, telling Inukigo she had hit the nail right on the head.

“Why didn’t the two of you tell them?” Inukigo asked incredulously.

“Kagome wanted to wait until tonight to tell them. She said she wanted to have a peaceful night at home before we told them, because her family would start pestering us or something.”

“I see,” Inukigo said. Watching Inuyasha, she could see that he was still uncomfortable about something.

“There’s something else isn’t there?”

Inuyasha looked at his sister out of the corner of his eyes. She was way to used to his moods.

“I haven’t asked her mother’s permission yet,” he replied quietly.

Inukigo gaped at him, wide-eyed.

“Are you serious?”

Inuyasha nodded sombrely.

“Why did you ask Kagome when you hadn’t asked permission from her parents?”

“It’s not like I planned to ask her before I asked permission. It just ended up happening that way.”

“Well, why don’t you ask her now?” Inukigo suggested.

Inuyasha shifted around uneasily.

“Inuyasha. You have to ask before you announce it. You know that. It wouldn’t be honourable otherwise.”

“I know! It’s just that…” Inuyasha trailed off, as though he didn’t really want to voice his thoughts.

“It’s just what?”

“What if…she refuses it.”

“What?” Inukigo asked, not believing that she was hearing this again.

“What if Kagome’s mother doesn’t consent to it. She can forbid the marking if she chooses to.”

“Why are you thinking this? She seems to like you well enough. What reason would she have for forbidding it?” she asked, though she had a pretty good idea.

Inuyasha’s face set into a painful scowl.

“Sure, she might seem to like me well enough, but that could easily change if I ask her for Kagome. After all, I am only a-”

“Stop,” Inukigo ordered, causing Inuyasha’s face to whip towards her, “I don’t want to hear it. You doubt yourself too much, Inuyasha.”

“But-”

“But nothing. I’m sure Higurashi-san will have no problems with you wanting to take Kagome for your mate. I’m sure that she already knows that the two of you are close.”

Inuyasha looked at her with surprise. Inukigo had to laugh.

“What? Did you think that you were hiding it well? I knew within the first few days of being with all of you that there was something going on between you and Kagome. It would be impossible for her mother to not know over the two years that you have been travelling together.”

Inuyasha bowed his head and stared at the floor. Would Kagome’s mother really be that accepting of him?

“Inuyasha?”

Both Inukigo and Inuyasha turned to see the very woman they had been discussing standing in the doorway.

“Do you still want your dinner? It’s getting cold.”

Inukigo took the opportunity and whacked her brother on the back catching his attention.

“Go for it,” she whispered, soft enough that Inuyasha would be the only one who heard.

Inuyasha looked at her, and Inukigo gave him a reassuring smile. He took a deep breath and steeled his features, and rolled to his feet with a grace that Inukigo hadn’t known he possessed. He strode confidently over to Mama, who was still standing in the doorway, confused as ever. Inukigo could smell the nervousness and apprehension pouring off of him, even with her messed up nose.

He stood directly in front of Mama, and looked her straight in the eye. Mama looked back at him, unsure of what was occurring.

“Higurashi-sama.”

Mama eyes widened at the respectful title that Inuyasha had used, but she had no time to question it, because the boy dropped to his knees before her. He lowered his head and bowed towards her, his hands fisting on the tatami directly in front of his knees. She was about to ask him what he was doing, but Inuyasha began to speak.

“Higurashi-sama. I, Inuyasha, son of the Inu no Taisho who once ruled over the western territories, request from you your daughter, Higurashi Kagome, that I may take her as my mate. I swear on my honour, that I shall always respect and honour her. I will forever be by her side, and I will protect her with my very life.”

Mama just stared at the top of Inuyasha’s head, wide-eyed and dumbfounded. She could see that both of his ears were focused completely on her, waiting for her answer.

“Inuyasha…I’m not sure, if I understand what it is you are asking of me. Mate?”

Inukigo watched the entire exchange, proud that her brother had managed his short speech in such a steady voice, though she know exactly how terrified, yes terrified, he was at the moment. She looked at Mama after Inuyasha was finished speaking, and when the woman spoke, Inukigo nearly smacked herself in the head for not remembering that she had no knowledge of demon customs. Looking at her brother’s rigid back, Inukigo guessed that Inuyasha probably wouldn’t be capable of speech until Mama gave him an answer, so took it upon herself to explain to Kagome’s mother.

“He means wife, in human terms.”

Mama looked over to Inukigo, who was smiling happily, then back down to the hanyou boy kneeling at her feet. She was beginning to understand.

“Inuyasha, look at me please.”

Inuyasha remained perfectly still, his nervousness seemingly having frozen him to the spot. When Mama repeated his name, Inuyasha gulped and slowly lifted his head to look up into the face of the woman before him. Her face was neutral, but her eyes were still warm and inviting.

“Inuyasha, do you love my daughter?”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened a fraction and he nodded his head slightly, never breaking eye contact.

“Hai, Higurashi-sama. With all my heart.”

A warm smile broke out on Mama’s face, and Inuyasha relaxed slightly.

“Yes, Inuyasha. You may take my daughter as your mate.”

The breath that Inuyasha had been holding rushed from his lungs in one long exhale in his relief. He bowed his head again, breaking their eye contact.

“Arigatou, Higurashi-sama.”

Mama smiled and knelt down in front of him. She placed a hand under his chin and forced him too look up at her.

“Did you fear that I would say no?”

Inuyasha blushed and looked slightly off to the side. Inukigo commended the woman on her perceptiveness. She seemed to have seen through Inuyasha’s calm exterior to the apprehension beneath right away.

“Inuyasha, I have known for a long time about the feelings between you and Kagome. I would never do anything to separate the two of you.”

Inuyasha looked back to her face and nodding in understanding. Mama kept smiling and stood up once again.

“Come back and finish your dinner before it gets cold.”

“In a minute,” Inuyasha agreed.

Mama was satisfied and after patting his head once she turned and walked back towards the kitchen.

Inuyasha sat there for a moment, letting what just happened sink in.

“Told you.”

He whipped around to face his sister, who was smiling and barely containing laughter. He growled playfully and pounced on her before she knew what was happening. Inukigo laughed and snickered openly as Inuyasha knocked her over and wrapped his arms around her. When her laughter died down, she gave him a quick nuzzle on the cheek and patted him on the back.

“Alright, go on and eat your dinner.”

He rose up a bit and nodded, then returned the nuzzle before releasing her and jumping to his feet. As he was heading out into the hallway, Inukigo’s voice stopped him.

“And keep that crazy old man away from me!”

Inuyasha laughed as he walked down the hall towards the kitchen and his future family.

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‘Why is it that I can’t seem to stop thinking about her?’

Far from the bone-eater’s well and from Musashi, there was a rather large cave hidden behind a waterfall which housed a small pack of wolf demons. The leader of this pack was currently at the far back of the cave, reclining against the wall as his mind strayed once again to the hanyou woman he had met days before.

‘Inukigo.’

Kouga didn’t know what to make of the feelings that stirred up within him at the thought of the woman. They were similar to what he felt for Kagome, but at the same time very different. He wasn’t sure how to describe the difference, but one thing that he did know was that these feelings were definitely stronger than anything he had ever felt before.

This was what confused him the most, and honestly had him a little scared. He had only been in the woman’s company for an hour at most, and now he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Whenever he thought of her, he then would pick up her scent, as though it were stuck to him or forever imprinted into his mind. Then he would be able to picture her. Usually, it was what she looked like running beside him, her hair whipping around in the generated wind. A few times though the image of her standing in the river, or of her naked in his arms had come to his mind, and he had shaken his head to clear the thoughts.

He knew what it meant. He had stopped denying it after the first day. He was attracted to her. But that wasn’t all. His instincts were telling him that it wasn’t that simple, that there was something much deeper to his feelings.

‘To think, I’m interested enough in her to court her.’

Had it been someone else in his position he would have laughed at the absurdness of it all. A full blooded wolf demon, attracted to a dog hanyou. However absurd it was though, he had to acknowledge it. His instincts were telling him to pursue this woman, and he was never one to go against his instincts.

“Kouga?”

Kouga looked up from his thoughts to see Hakkaku watching him closely.

“What is it?”

“You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?”

Kouga didn’t deny anything and averted his gaze indifferently. Both Ginta and Hakkaku had figured out pretty quickly who had been occupying his mind whenever he seemed to space out. He assumed it had something to do with the fact that Inukigo’s scent had been all over him when he got back to the cave that night. They hadn’t really commented on it, and he wasn’t in the mood to discuss it with them.

Mind made up, Kouga stood and began walking towards the cave entrance.

“I’m going,” he called out behind him, “Alone this time.”

“You’re going to see her, right?”

Kouga looked to his left to see Ginta leaning against the wall near the cave entrance. He didn’t answer and Ginta took that as confirmation.

“The Elders won’t allow it, you know that right?”

Kouga knew what he was referring to. The Elders, who had authority over all of the packs and tribes within the clan, would not approve of him taking interest in a half demon.

Kouga turned his gaze towards the waterfall at the entrance of the cave.

“That’s for me to worry about. Don’t concern yourself over it.”

Before Ginta could comment any further, Kouga sprinted off through the waterfall, and began running towards his destination - Musashi, and the forest of Inuyasha.

‘I have to see her. I need to know that these feelings are what I think they are.’

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“So what did he give you this time nee-chan?”

Kagome looked around the large basket in her arms so she could see her little brother walking just ahead and off to the side of her.

“Umm…there’s fruit, and I think I saw some salts for baths and foot soaks in there. I’m not sure what else, I didn’t want to dig through it at school.”

“You think he would have given up by now. Watch the step nee-chan,” Souta warned as he and Kagome came to the shrine steps.

“Thanks. Yeah, you would think. Yuka and Eri keep encouraging him though. And lately he always runs off before I can refuse his gifts. I’m starting to think that he knows that I’m going to turn him down but doesn’t want to hear it.”

The siblings walked quietly up the rest of the stairs and across the shrine courtyard. Souta slid open the shoji so Kagome could walk in, and after taking off their shoes the two of them walked through the hall looking for the rest of the home’s occupants. When they came to the living room, Souta squeaked and Kagome nearly dropped the basket she was carrying on his head at the sight that greeted them.

Mama was sitting at the table in the living room drinking tea, and there with her were none other than Inuyasha AND Inukigo. All three of the room’s occupants had turned towards herself and Souta at his squeak.

Souta raised a shaky hand and pointed at the silver haired, dog eared girl sitting with a clay cup lifted to her mouth.

“T-there’s two Inuyashas!”

Inukigo’s ears flicked in agitation, and Inuyasha started laughing. His laughter was cut short however when Inukigo reached over and cuffed him upside the head.

“Hey!”

Inukigo ignored him and went back to drinking her tea.

“Inukigo-chan? I-How did you get here?”

Inukigo shrugged and put down her empty cup.

“I don’t know. I jumped down in the well out of curiosity and it let me through.”

“This is the sister that you and Inu-oniichan told us about?” Souta asked.

Inukigo snickered, earning a slightly embarrassed glare from her brother.

“Yeah, this is her,” Kagome replied, then remembered the basket that she carried in her arms, “I’ll be right back, I just have to bring this up to my room.”

“I’ll come with you,” Inuyasha said as he stood up and followed her into the hallway.

He took the basket from her arms and walked with her towards her room.

“What is all this stuff?” he asked, sniffing at it through the cello wrap.

“Another gift from Hojo,” Kagome sighed. She had decided to expand Inukigo’s advice and had dropped the -kun from his name as well.

“Another one?” Inuyasha asked, knowing all too well about the human boy’s habit of bringing gifts for Kagome, “I thought that you weren’t gonna accept them any more?”

“I’ve tried,” Kagome explained, “But he keeps running away before I can refuse. I might actually be able to use all the stuff in this one though, instead of having to give it to ji-chan.”

Inuyasha didn’t answer her as he walked through the door that she had opened for him. Kagome could tell that something was bothering him and she had a pretty good idea of what it was. Once he had placed the basket down on her bed she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she rested her head against his shoulder.

“The gifts don’t mean anything to me Inuyasha. Don’t worry about it.”

“But-” Inuyasha started to say, but Kagome cut him off.

“I mean it. I don’t need gifts from you Inuyasha. Just having you with me is plenty.”

Inuyasha turned around in her arms and wrapped his around her shoulders. She smiled up at him, and he couldn’t help but lean down slightly to kiss her. She responded to him immediately, and there was no resistance from her when he licked her lips asking for entrance. He still wasn’t all that sure of what he was doing, but he had learned a lot about kissing in the last few days by picking up on the ways that Kagome kissed him. He felt her shiver when his tongue swept through her mouth so he guessed that he was doing it right. When they broke apart for air they were both panting lightly and still holding each other closely.

When she got her breath back Kagome smiled up at him.

“That’s way better than any of Hojo’s gifts.”

Inuyasha smiled back at her, then leaned in again and nipped at her neck just below her jaw, a spot that he had discovered could be very ticklish. He received the desired effect when Kagome started giggling and batting at him with her hands. After a few moments of that he stopped and rested his cheek against hers so that his mouth was beside her ear.

“Thank you.”

He felt Kagome smile and she rubbed her cheek against his. She pulled back to look into his eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

She gave him a peck on the lips, which Inuyasha tried to deepen, but Kagome wouldn’t let him and stepped out of his arms towards the closet. He whined softly when she walked away from him, and Kagome had to smile. He’d started making that noise whenever he wanted to keep doing whatever they had been doing. It usually worked, because he suckered her back into it, but not this time.

“Not right now, Inuyasha. Someone will probably come see what’s taking us so long, so we’ll end up being interrupted anyways.”

She saw his ears droop and knew that he was trying to pull her back, but she managed to resist him.

“Later okay. Now, I’m going to change, so out.”

“Fine, fine. I’m going,” Inuyasha replied sulkily.

He went out the door, closing it behind him, and stood in the hall waiting for her. He had been sure he had her that time too.

‘Oh well,’ he thought with a grin, ‘She did say later.’

“Inuyasha?”

His ear flicked as he heard Kagome through the door.

“Yeah?”

“How did Inukigo get here?”

“Like she said, the well just let her through. I don’t know why,” he then grimaced, remembering the rest of the events of that day, “I felt magic from the well, and when I went to look, I picked up her scent from the well, and saw her crawling out.”

“Crawling?” Kagome questioned.

“Yeah, she wasn’t in the greatest condition once she came through.”

“What do you mean? Was she hurt?” Kagome asked as she opened the door and joined him in the hallway. Inuyasha took in her light blue sundress before shaking his head.

“No, she got sick when she came through.”

“She was sick?” Kagome repeated, an incredulous look on her face, “Really?”

“Yeah, threw up and everything. She was kind of woozy for most of the day, it’s only been within the last hour or so that she’s been able to get up and walk around without looking like a drunk. She only left your living room once to come up here and use the bathroom,” he explained as they walked towards the stairs.

“What happened?”

“The air in this era really stinks, you know that.”

“Ah, so that’s what it was,” Kagome said, remembering the times that Inuyasha had been faintly ill from some strong scent, “How come the air here never makes you sick?”

Inuyasha snorted for a moment before grumbling.

“Her nose is better than mine.”

“Oh,” Kagome said, unsuccessfully stifling a small giggle at his grumpy expression, which earned her a glare from Inuyasha, “Well, it doesn’t seem like her nose is much better in this situation.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha snorted, knowing full well that she was trying to appeal to his pride.

They walked the rest of the way back to the living room, where they found that Inukigo and Mama had been joined by the overeager Souta, who seemed to have taken it upon himself to tell Inukigo all about their era. She was taking it well, and humouring the boy, but Kagome had a pretty good idea that Inukigo had no idea what he was talking about. When Souta referred to her as Inu-oneechan, she heard Inuyasha snort to cover up a laugh, drawing Inukigo’s attention and causing her to send him a look that clearly said ‘say one word and you will pay’. Kagome felt it was time to save the poor hanyou girl.

“Inukigo-chan, Inuyasha mentioned that you were sick earlier. Are you feeling alright now?”

Inukigo looked at her, clearly grateful for the interruption.

“Mostly. Just a little dizzy and off-balanced when I move too quickly. I should be completely fine by nightfall, but I don’t know if that would apply if I tried to go outside.”

“I see,” Kagome replied.

Kagome and Inuyasha knelt down next to the living room table as well, and together the group attempted to explain some of the workings of the modern era to a very overwhelmed Inukigo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

A few hours later, all were sitting at the kitchen table enjoying supper. Even ji-chan, although he was eyeing Inukigo warily, who would growl lowly whenever the man would move to reach into his haori, which would earn an elbow pock in the ribs, which resulted in many fights broken up by Kagome until she realized that her grandfather was the main cause and ordered him to give her all the ofudas that he was hiding. He gave them up after little fuss.

Inukigo seemed to share Inuyasha’s distaste for spicy food, staying very far away from the spicier sauce that Mama had prepared for their steaks and opting for the much milder one that had been made in anticipation of the hanyous’ sensitive tongues. When everyone had finished and Mama was clearing the table, Kagome looked to Inuyasha to ask if he was ready. He nodded and she took a deep breath as she grasped his hand beneath the table. She felt him squeeze her hand back and gave him a little smile.

“Minna,” she called, before Souta or her grandfather could leave the room, “Could you all sit back down please. There’s something that Inuyasha and I wanted to tell everyone.”

Souta and ji-chan sat back down with looks of confusion on their faces, Mama looked like she might know what was going on, and Inukigo just sat there watching everyone else since she already knew exactly what this was about.

“Well Kagome, what is this about?” Mama asked, taking a seat across from her daughter.

Kagome took another steadying breath and squeezed Inuyasha’s hand for support. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and was surprised to see that he wasn’t the least bit nervous. She could tell because his ears were perfectly relaxed, not straining forward on her family or twitching around like they normally did when he was on edge. Did he know something that she didn’t?

“Well, we just wanted to say, that Inuyasha and I…we’ve decided to become…mates.”

Souta and ji-chan looked at her like she had grown another head, but Mama was strangely calm.

‘Okay, something is definitely going on.’

“I was expecting as much. I’m very happy for you dear.”

“Huh?” Kagome said unintelligently, “You were expecting it? B-but, how? I don’t get it, you don’t know anything about demon mating.”

“Oh, Inuyasha mentioned something about it earlier today. When you said that there was something you wanted to announce I guessed that this was what it would be. Although there are some things that I would like to have explained.”

Kagome hadn’t paid much attention to her mother after she said that Inuyasha had mentioned it. She immediately turned to the hanyou beside her and levelled him with a glare.

“You mentioned it to her? I thought we were going to wait until now.”

Inuyasha tried to come up with a way to save himself. Why did he get the feeling that that promise of ‘later’ was about to be taken away?

“I didn’t tell her that we had already marked. I just mentioned some things about it to her, that’s all.”

“If I had known she wouldn’t be surprised I wouldn’t have been so nervous over this. Why didn’t you tell me that you had talked to her about it?”

Inuyasha immediately grew defensive.

“What I discussed with your mother is not really something that I am meant to discuss with you afterwards.”

Kagome seemed to forget that her family was sitting right across the table as their audience.

“Why not? I’m your intended aren’t I? I think that I had a right to know about this!”

Without another word to her, Inuyasha rose from the table and walked out of the room. The occupants of the kitchen listened as his footsteps went up the stairs and then as a door slammed, most likely Kagome’s. Kagome just sat there staring at the doorway.

‘What did I do?’

“Kagome.”

Inukigo’s voice drew Kagome’s attention to the female hanyou seated just down the table from her, who at the moment didn’t seem very happy.

“That escalated much further than it needed to. You should have just accepted the fact that he didn’t tell you and left it at that.”

Kagome flinched at Inukigo’s cold tone.

“But-”

“He was not in the wrong Kagome. What he talked about with your mother…he was asking her for permission to mark you.”

Kagome’s eyes widened.

“But we had already-”

“I know. But he was supposed to ask first. He’s honour bound to do it. But he didn’t need to talk about it with you. It’s just something that isn’t done.”

Kagome looked down at her lap sadly.

“What do I do?”

“Apologize to him of course,” Inukigo said as she got up from her chair.

She reached over and grabbed Kagome’s hand, pulling the surprised girl up and out with her to the hall.

“Listen Kagome. I think that maybe this time when you apologize you should try appealing to his demon side a little bit.”

“His demon?”

Inukigo nodded.

“Yes. You know that Inuyasha, as well as myself, are half demon. That half dictates a lot of what we do, and it also causes us to respond differently than humans to most situations.”

“I understand,” Kagome replied, nodding her head.

“Good. Now, like I said, you should try appealing to his demon side. You already know one way to do that, now I’m going to show you another way,” Inukigo explained.

Looking Kagome in the eye, she lifted her chin, baring the expanse of her throat to the slightly confused girl.

“This is what would accompany an apology. It is a show of submission. In other situations it is also a show of absolute trust. You are willing baring your most vulnerable area, showing that you completely trust the person to not do you harm. When you do this, don’t keep eye contact, and he may grab your neck to show that he’s accepted your submission so try your best not to flinch. If you show any signs of fearing him he may take it as you not being sincere. Do you understand?” Inukigo asked, lowering her head.

“Hai,” Kagome answered.

Inukigo gave her a smile.

“Then get going. Best to put an end to his mood before it gets too bad.”

Kagome nodded and ran off towards the stairs. Inukigo turned to go back into the kitchen, where Kagome’s family was still waiting anxiously. She sighed and sat back down with them.

“Since those too are busy, I think I should explain the workings of demon courting…”

Kagome ran up the stairs, but slowed down and came to a stop outside her door. She took a deep breath as she prepared herself to open the door.

‘I can do this. He must have wanted to talk to me, right? That’s why he came up here instead of running off outside somewhere. Yes, I’m sure of it.’

With that thought in mind, Kagome slowly pushed open the door and peered into the darkened room. There was Inuyasha, sitting on her windowsill with one leg hanging inside the room. He never turned to look at her, but she could see his ears turn her way to follow her movements. She slowly walked across the room to stand beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to get him to look at her. It didn’t work, and after a few moments, Kagome sighed and took his face in one hand, turning him to look at her.

“Inuyasha,” she said, averting her eyes, “I’m sorry, for what I said in the kitchen.”

Ever so slowly she lifted her chin, baring her neck to him. She heard a sharp intake of breath, as though he was surprised by her actions. She stayed perfectly still, waiting for Inuyasha to show some sign of accepting her apology. He surprised her when she felt him lean forward and clamp his mouth around her throat, but she remembered what Inukigo had told her and didn’t move. After a few moments he let go and stood up so he could look down at her upturned face. Before Kagome could ask him what he was doing his mouth latched onto hers possessively. She responded without a second thought and opened her mouth when he asked. She felt one of his hands tangle through her hair and grip her head at the nape, while the other rested on her left shoulder, his thumb lightly stroking over the mark he had made on her neck.

Kagome shivered and drew closer to him, then placed both hands on his neck and slid them underneath his haori and under kimono. She ran her hands along his shoulders, loosening his shirts in the process, before returning her hands to his neck. Inuyasha leaned further into her when her fingers danced across her mark. Kagome wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but it seemed as though a lifetime had passed when she felt Inuyasha’s hands leave her head and neck, and then glide down her back and sides to rest on her hips. She sensed some hesitance from him, and while she wondered why, Inuyasha made up his mind and his hands slide down over the outside of her thighs until they stopped just below her butt. She didn’t have the chance to wonder what he was doing, because Inuyasha grabbed the backs of her thighs and then lifted her up and towards him. Kagome’s eyes shot open as her legs went around his waist, surprised that they were no longer firmly planted on the floor.

Inuyasha never noticed her surprise. He still had his eyes closed kissing her, and her hands were still on his neck. He was losing himself again, just like the time when they had first marked each other, he knew it. He knew exactly where everything in Kagome’s room was, so without opening his eyes or stopping what he was doing he made his way over to Kagome’s bed, where he sat down with Kagome straddling his lap.

Inuyasha released her mouth for a moment and looked up into her eyes before latching his mouth on his mark. Kagome nearly squealed when he started attacking her neck, and started kissing at his neck in between small moans and whimpers while her left hand moved up to begin rhythmically rub one of his ears. Inuyasha growled low and wrapped his arms around her to pull her tightly against him. He hadn’t known that rubbing his ears could feel like that. When Kagome touched him it felt as though shocks ran through his whole body, and he was sure that if he hadn’t been sitting down his legs would have given out.

Inuyasha started alternating between licking, sucking, nipping, and kissing the mark on Kagome’s neck, and was revelling in all the sounds she was making. It wasn’t long before he felt Kagome rocking against him like she had the first time. He knew that it was instinctual for her body to move in that way, and he then realized that he didn’t want it to be for that reason. With one last kiss to the mark he took his mouth away and moved to kiss closer to her ear. As he anticipated, Kagome stopped rocking, but what he was totally unprepared for was all her weight bearing down on his shoulders and pushing his back to the bed.

“K-Kagome.”

The girl above him looked down with hazy eyes.

“Why did you stop?”

Inuyasha nearly laughed. Kagome was pouting at him. He kept his laughter at bay and steeled himself to explain to her.

“Kagome, did you realize what your body was doing just now?”

Kagome looked down at him in confusion.

“What was I doing?”

Instead of telling her, Inuyasha thrust his hips up lightly, effectively rubbing his groin against the apex of her thighs. He bit back the groan that wanted to escape from the friction, while Kagome’s eyes widened and her mouth formed a surprised ‘o’.

“Oh, I was doing that again, huh?” she asked timidly as a blush spread across her face, “I didn’t know.”

“That’s why I stopped,” Inuyasha explained.

“Huh?”

“I didn’t want to feel like I was making you do that. I wanted you to be aware of what you were doing with me.”

“Inuyasha…” Kagome breathed in admiration. She smiled down at him then braced her hands a little further down his chest before grinding against him lightly.

Inuyasha hissed in a breath and gripped her hips tightly.

“Kagome?”

“It’s alright, Inuyasha,” she said leaning closer to his face, “I know what I’m doing this time. I want to.”

Inuyasha needed no other motivation and leaned up on one elbow to claim her lips. The other hand stayed firmly on Kagome’s hip as he thrust up against her again, a little harder this time. Her breathing became irregular along with his, and he heard the moans that were being smothered by his mouth.

He still wasn’t all that sure of what it was they were doing. He knew what the basics of mating were from what his instincts told him, and this definitely wasn’t it. Maybe Kagome knew, he’d have to ask her about it - when he managed to not be embarrassed about it that is.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt Kagome move away from him and get off the bed.

“Kagome?”

“I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

“Where are you going?” he asked, rising up on both elbows to look at her.

“I just need to get something. Stay there.”

He nodded and watched as she carefully opened the door and then took off silently down the hall. He watched the door way until she came back a few minutes later with a pair of hand towels.

“What are those for?” he asked as she laid them on the bed beside them and straddled him again.

“So you won’t mess up your clothes again,” she replied quietly as a deep blush spread completely across her face.

“O-oh,” he said, sporting a blush of his own.

Kagome’s hands planted on his chest and began to slowly pull open his shirts. It startled Inuyasha that clothes were actually coming off this time and he stopped her.

“Kagome, I…”

Kagome looked a little embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. You didn’t want me to touch you? I-I won’t, if you don’t want me to.”

Inuyasha shook his head.

“That’s not it. It’s just…this…and we…we can’t…”

Kagome realized what it was he was trying to say.

“It’s okay, Inuyasha. We weren’t going to. There are ways to do this without having sex, like we did before remember? I just wanted to touch you more this time. Is that alright?”

Inuyasha relaxed visibly.

“Y-you can touch me, if you want. I don’t mind.”

“O-okay.”

Her hands were on him again, this time freeing his shirts from his hakama to open them fully. When they were loose enough, he pulled his arms free of the sleeves and rested his hands on her hips, leaving him shirtless beneath her. Her hands came to his chest a little hesitantly at first, but she gained confidence when Inuyasha seemed to enjoy her touch. Her fingers were dancing lightly all over his chest and abdomen, and Inuyasha was bordering on trembling.

‘I never imagined, that just being touched could feel like this. I wonder, would it be the same for Kagome, if I touched her this way?’

His thoughts were broken by the feeling of a pair of lips placing a kiss on his solar plexus. His breath hitched - that had felt much different than just a simple touch. Kagome paused as if to gauge his reaction, and when it seemed as though he wasn’t displeased she kissed him again a little further to the left this time. Inuyasha started squirming the closer she got to his nipple - this was feeling way better than he ever thought it would. Without really thinking about it, his hands slid from her hips down her thighs, and rested on her knees. In his mind he registered his fingers toying with the hem of her dress, and decided that he should try some exploration of his own.

“Is it alright…if I touch you like that…Kagome?” he asked between breaths. When had he started panting?

Kagome lifted her head to look him in the eye and nodded.

“You can touch me…however you like Inuyasha.”

He nodded in understanding, and when she went back to paying attention to his chest, he slid his hands back up her thighs, under the dress this time. She was so warm and soft to the touch. He stopped just short of her butt, all the times Miroku had been beaten to a bloody pulp for touching that part coming to mind. He shook the thoughts clear and decided to go for it anyway, and slid his hands back the rest of the way to cup her. He beamed when she moaned softly and started grinding at him again. Deciding to experiment a bit, Inuyasha started squeezing the flesh in his hands gently, and was rewarded by her pressing to him just a little bit harder. He accidentally grazed her with his claws, but was delighted to find that she enjoyed the feeling and shivered.

Without really thinking about it, his hands slid further under the dress to rest on her bare waist. When he noticed where his hands were, he came to the realization that he wanted to touch more of her, see more of her.

“Kagome?”

“Hmm?” Kagome questioned, looking up at him through hooded eyes.

“Can I…umm…” he moved his hands a little higher, taking the dress with them in an attempt to show her what he wanted.

When Kagome felt his hands move, she looked over her shoulder to see that her dress was ridden up and wasn’t even covering her lower half anymore. She blushed when she caught on to what he wanted.

“Oh, umm…” she said nervously. Was she really ready to be naked - well mostly naked - in front of him?

Kagome took a deep breath to gather her nerve, and sat up on him. Inuyasha took it wrong at first, thinking that he had wanted too much and that now she wanted to stop. She surprised him though when she lifted her arms over her head and smiled at him. He could see the dark blush on her face and could smell her apprehension, but that smile told him that she was willing to go along with what he wanted. Smiling back at her, he shifted his hands higher and took the dress off over her head, then tossed it to the floor.

He looked up at her in awe as he smoothed his hands over her shoulders and down her arms. He hadn’t known that she wasn’t wearing that ‘bra’ contraption of hers under the dress, so she now sat above him with just that little scrap of cloth between her legs. He’d seen her naked before when she was bathing in the feudal era, but he had never been this close before. Never been able to touch or admire her before.

Kagome experienced a sudden bout of embarrassment as a result of Inuyasha’s open staring. Unable to stop herself, she quickly crossed her arms across her breasts, and consequently blocked Inuyasha’s view.

When Kagome’s arms came up to cover herself, Inuyasha’s gaze immediately snapped to her face. She was embarrassed? He sat up with her still sitting on his crotch and gently pulled her arms away. Kagome looked at him with surprise.

“You don’t need to do that, Kagome,” he said, wrapping one arm around her waist, “You’re beautiful, and, I want to be able to see you.”

Kagome’s eyes widened at the praise and let her hands rest on his shoulders. When he was sure that she wasn’t going to reject him out of embarrassment, Inuyasha reached up with his right hand and lightly stroked the side of her left breast with his thumb. Kagome gasped, but he wasn’t sure if it was a good gasp, that is until she leaned back so he had better access to her. Supporting her with the arm around her waist, Inuyasha remembered what she had done to him, and started trailing his fingers over her breast. First he traced around her breast, being careful of his claws but also grazing her lightly from time to time when he remembered that she had liked it before. He then cupped her breast in his palm and lightly flicked his thumb over her nipple. He didn’t need to wonder if she was enjoying it - she had tossed her head back and was panting and moaning from every touch. He then remembered what it felt like to have her kiss him.

‘Would she like that?’

Deciding to chance it, Inuyasha leaned down and kissed the valley between her breasts before slowly travelling over to her right breast. Kagome nearly screamed when his mouth closed over her nipple, and she ground into him - hard.

‘Guess that means yes,’ he thought as he met her thrusts.

The pace started to quicken and when he thought that Kagome must be getting close, she shifted and wrapped her legs around him tightly.

“Inu…yasha,” she panted out breathlessly.

Inuyasha’s pride just about flew through the roof when she moaned his name. He couldn’t believe that he was evoking those sounds from her, making her respond to him in the ways that she was.

He was surprised when he felt one of Kagome’s hands on his jaw, urging his head up. He released her breast and looked up at her, only to have Kagome’s mouth latch onto his in a deep kiss. Her rocking against him became harder and more hurried, and he assumed that she was very close to her release. Moving the hand that was on her waist lower, he firmly pressed his hand to her tailbone to hold her in place and ground up into her, and that was all she needed. Her legs tightened around him like a vice as her body seized up, and he swallowed the cry she made. She clung to him tightly as she caught her breath, and he then realized something. She had released, but he hadn’t. He wasn’t sure how to go about this situation. He was close, painfully close, but he didn’t want Kagome to have to keep going if she had already finished. While he was wondering about this, Kagome’s hands came to his chest and pushed him back down to the bed before crawling off to his side. He looked up at her in confusion when she reached for the hand towels. She looked down at him and saw his confused look.

“You didn’t finish right?” she asked with a blush on her face. Inuyasha blushed as well and shook his head ‘no’. Kagome blushed a little deeper, “I’m going to help you finish.”

Before he could ask what she meant, Kagome had pulled and loosened the tie on his hakama. Inuyasha’s eyes shot open and he rose up on his elbows.

“K-Kagome?!”

Kagome stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.

“W-will you let me do this for you, Inuyasha? If you don’t like it, just say so and I’ll stop.”

Her eyes were pleading with him, and he couldn’t say no to her. He leaned back into the bed again, signalling that she could go ahead. He felt her move his hakama and froze when she managed to free him of his fundoshi. He was sure his face was the colour of his fire rat clothes. She was touching him there.

Kagome paused for a moment in what she was doing. She gulped as she stared down at Inuyasha’s erect member. She took a deep breath as she prepared herself to do what she had started. Taking one of the towels in her hand, Kagome thought for a moment about how to go about this, before taking the head of his member and cupping it in her palm through the towel. She felt Inuyasha tremble, but he didn’t stop her so she assumed that it was okay. She took her other hand and hesitantly trailed her fingers along his length, watching his face to see his reaction.

Inuyasha’s mouth flew open and he made a choking sound as he grasped at the bedcovers. No way was he going to stop her if she wanted to touch him, that felt way too good to give up. She gripped him in her hand and started pumping him slowly. Inuyasha thought he was going to die.

“Ka-gome,” he growled out through his teeth as he started to thrust his hips in time with her hand.

Kagome guessed what it was that he wanted, and started pumping him faster. Inuyasha was growling, groaning, and panting beneath her, and it took only a few more strokes before he broke. As soon as she felt him cumming, Kagome leaned up and kissed him, silencing the cry of her name that probably would have alerted the household to their activities.

When he was finished, Kagome pulled away to let him catch his breath. She removed the towel that she had used to catch his seed and used the second one to clean up any that had been missed, then got up from the bed and deposited both towels in her clothes hamper. Inuyasha was so off on his little high that he didn’t even notice her moving.

When she came back to the bed, Kagome crawled up to him and curled up against his side and wrapped an arm around his waist. Inuyasha came back to reality and put an arm around her shoulders as he rested his chin on her head.

“Wow,” was the only word he seemed capable of voicing.

Kagome giggled.

“I’m guessing you liked it then.”

“Mmm,” Inuyasha agreed, “You did too, right?”

“Of course,” Kagome replied, snuggling closer.

They stayed silent for a moment before Kagome glanced over at her clock.

“We should get dressed. It’s still early and someone will probably come looking for us.”

“In a minute,” he agreed quietly, “I just want to lay here with you like this for a little while.”

“Okay,” Kagome replied, “Aishiteru.”

Inuyasha smiled against Kagome’s hair and hugged her a little tighter.

‘I love you too.’

Down in the kitchen, Inukigo was just finishing up explaining courting and the concept of mates to Kagome’s family. She was just about to say something when a scent hit her nose and she froze, her face turning a little green. Mama noticed the look on Inukigo’s face and she looked at her with concern.

“Daijoubou, Inukigo? Do you feel sick again?”

Inukigo looked at the woman and laughed nervously.

“No, I’m fine Higurashi-san,” she replied, continuing on with her explanation. Her mind however stayed on what she had just discovered.

‘Geeze, Inuyasha. Isn’t it a bit early for that? And while her whole family is up and about too. You’ve got some guts though, I’ll give you that.’

Trying her best to ignore the scent that only she could pick up, Inukigo went on with her discussion with Kagome’s family, for the moment trying for the world to seem as though she were none the wiser.

***************************************************************** *******

Geeze, did I really write that? *blush* I’m not hentai, really I’m not…*sigh* Even I’m not convinced with that.

Thanks so much for the reviews! I got so many after I posted the last chapter, and managed to kick myself in the butt and get this chapter out as quickly as possible. Again, a big thanks to everyone that reviewed!

~ MM.org ~  

ninja-of-the-night (not signed in) -- good thing you made time for this one in your schedule, told you that you’d need it *snicker*

Patriot (not signed in) -- wow, can you like, read my mind or something? *eyes shift around nervously* You’re pretty close to my ideas there, but I’m not going to give away exactly what’s going to happen. But I will tell you this - Sesshoumaru is going to do something for her to prove herself, you’ll have to wait to find out exactly what, lol.

~ FF.net ~

(I was very surprised by the number of reviews I got here. I haven’t been getting many since I started, not even for my first story. Big thanks you guys)

froggiesrcool -- I’m glad that you like the Kouga/Inukigo pairing. About Ayame showing up, I’m still not sure, but I’ll tell you now what my opinion is on Kouga and his relationship with Ayame. For starters, I think that it is non-existent. Ayame doesn’t exist in the manga, she was created solely for the anime. And even then, I don’t believe that Kouga ever felt those kind of feelings for her when he said he would marry her. I saw that as his way of making her feel better, not showing he loved her. If he loved her, he would have remembered her and the promise he made when she shows up. Now, about the fights…while I am going to get to more action soon, I’m not going to write up meaningless fights between Inuyasha and Kagome. I know that they argue a lot in the anime, but in this fic, they are ‘engaged’ and have a better understanding of each other. Also, with Inukigo showing up, Inuyasha has mellowed out a bit and is more agreeable. I meant to address this in the fic, but this is because she has brought a sense of normalcy back to his life - what I mean is that Inukigo was with him all his life, and having her back has made him feel more at ease. I hope this explains it. About the fluff…while I don’t consider it suffocating (I got the impression that you did from your review), I’ll admit that I write a lot of it and try to keep it to reasonable levels. Wow, this is a long reply…

Kiyashi -- Thanks very much, I’m glad you like my drawings. Umm…I managed to get this chapter out relatively quickly, so don’t go to crazy, okay? lol

Skitzo

Pyrinsomniac -- yes, Aniue is the equivalent of Aneue. It is the most respectful term for big brother, so that should give you an idea of how much she thought of, and still thinks of Sesshoumaru.

gaurdianangel -- thanks. Wow, I’m surprised to learn that people are telling each other about my fic. It’s a really nice thing to know, lol. I won’t be making up another character for that purpose, and like I said before, in my opinion, Kouga doesn’t have any feelings for Ayame in the first place. So if I do have her show up, she’s going to cause conflict, but not in the sense that Kouga will be in indecision over her and Inukigo.