InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blood & Tears ❯ A Cure to Nightmares and Other Things ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of the anime/manga characters. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise.

Blood & Tears

Chapter 4: A Cure to Nightmares and Other Things (Warning: Chapter contains Limes)

Mama found them the next morning with InuYasha's body wrapped protectively around Kagome's, his arms holding her close, and his face nuzzling her hair and the back of her neck. Kagome must not have had any nightmares last night. When she had them Mama would usually find her facing InuYasha, curled up in a ball with her face buried in his chest.

Mama hoped this was a good sign. Most mornings she had found them in the nightmare position, InuYasha often still stroking her daughter's hair and back to soothe her. She wondered how much sleep InuYasha really got since he so obviously stayed awake when her daughter was like this to make sure that she was able to sleep. Mama regretted that she had ever tried to separate them - she just had a hard time accepting that they could actually go to bed together and, well, just sleep…

InuYasha couldn't believe they actually had slept through the night. This had been the first time he had not spent most of the night trying to soothe Kagome's nightmares away. She had called his name during the night, but this time it had been accompanied by a spike in her arousal, rather than in terror. It was the first night he had actually slept with her pulled into his body with his arms wrapped around her, rather than her rolling over and clutching at him in fear as she tried to bury herself into his chest. He was content to lie there, breathing in her calming scent, as she slept in peace.

Kagome woke with InuYasha's arms still around her. She felt the best she had in days. She was also surprised that she woke up in pretty much the same position they had gone to sleep in. Usually at some point during the night she would try to bury herself in InuYasha's chest. She had gone so far as to try to snuggle up under his pajama top for him to protect her from her fears.

Kagome rolled over to meet his amber eyes gazing at her. She reached over and gently kissed him on his lips. “Morning, InuYasha.”

He kissed her back. “Keh.”

Kagome continued, “I feel much better this morning, I wonder why?”

“You slept most of the night. You didn't seem to have any nightmares last night,” InuYasha answered her softly.

“I wonder why that was. It was the first time since…since the hospital, wasn't it?”

“Keh.”

“Do you think what we did last night had anything to do with it?” Kagome giggled as she asked.

InuYasha blushed. “If it helps you sleep, we can try it again.”

Kagome kissed him again. She wouldn't mind another round right now, but knew her mother would be looking for them for breakfast. Who knew she could be such a Hentai? “We'd better get dressed and go downstairs.”

“Keh.”

Mama was smiling at them as they came into the kitchen. “Did you two have a good night's sleep?”

“Keh.”

“Yeah - it was the best night since I came home from the hospital. Now I'm just starving. How long before I can have real food again?” Kagome asked.

~ ^~^ ~

The days passed by as Kagome's body healed. The weather was nice and she and InuYasha started to go for short walks in the neighborhood around the shrine. The worst part was the staircase; InuYasha usually ended up carrying her up and down to make sure she did not tear anything open.

They came home from one of their walks one afternoon to find Ayume waiting for their return. She stood from her place where she was sitting on the stairs as InuYasha picked Kagome up and carried her up the long staircase.

“Ayume, what are you doing here?” Kagome asked as InuYasha set her down.

“Kagome, I'm so sorry for what happened the other day. I didn't want to come, but I knew Eri was hell-bent on it. I was afraid it would be worse if I did not come with her. I'm sorry for what she said. I'm sorry I couldn't stop her,” Ayume said softly.

“Ayume, I know it wasn't your fault. I heard you tell them I did not want to talk about it,” Kagome said.

“It…it's just I think I know what happened. If that's what it was, I know how you feel.” Ayume had a tear trailing down the side of her face.

InuYasha could tell that Ayume empathized with Kagome even the other day. “Oi, you two are getting cold. We need to go in, and you can talk in Kagome's room.”

Kagome nodded at Ayume and took her hand to lead her inside.

As Kagome went upstairs with Ayume, InuYasha went to the kitchen for a snack of Ramen. He was hungry, but he felt bad eating in front of Kagome. He wasn't missing this opportunity.

Kagome sat on her bed and motioned Ayume to sit next to her. “What's this all about?”

“You were raped, weren't you?” Ayume said quietly, another tear trickling down her cheek.

“Wha…what makes you say that?” Kagome asked.

“Just the way you are acting. You've lost so much weight. You didn't even want Eri to touch you the other day, much less Hojo. Plus your mother and InuYasha are so protective of you. I…I wish I'd had someone to talk to,” Ayume answered.

“Wha…what do you mean?” Kagome questioned softly.

“I…I never told anyone. Only my mother knew. You were out so much that you didn't know I missed a month of school last year. My mother told the school I had mono, but I didn't. I had been sent to visit with my favorite uncle over a holiday and…and…and…he…he…raped me.” Ayume was crying now.

Kagome did not know what to say. She pulled Ayume to her and let her cry.

“Ayume…I'm so sorry…what did you do?” Kagome was crying with her now.

“It…it was horrible. His family said it was all my fault. They said I drove him to it. They said that…that…I…I was a…a slut…” Ayume said through her tears. “All I did was fall asleep on his couch and woke up to find him on top of me…”

Kagome held her tighter. “Ayume, I don't care what they said. It was not your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault but his own. He chose to do it. You can't blame yourself. You trusted him. You did not expect anything like that, did you?”

Ayume looked up. “You do understand, don't you?”

Kagome spoke barely above a whisper. “Yeah, I do. I thought he was my friend. He knew I loved InuYasha, but he decided that if he couldn't have me, no one could. He brought his entire gang to help overpower us. I thought we were going to die.”

Ayume looked at her. “How did you get away?”

“InuYasha has an older brother who was in the area. He heard our screams and saved us. He cared for us until we were well enough to come home. I know they would have killed us if he had not come. I keep wondering what I could have done differently to stop this from happening. Not just to me, but they badly hurt InuYasha too,” Kagome told her before she asked, “Did you have nightmares?”

Ayume nodded. “For months I would wake up imagining him over me again. I had to sleep in my mother's bed with her.”

Kagome responded, “InuYasha sleeps with me. The one night he tried to sleep in the guest room, I woke the entire house up with my screams. He's been with me ever since.”

Ayume's eyes opened wide. “Your mother lets him sleep with you?”

“Believe it or not, we really do just sleep, or at least I do. I think he stays awake all night sometimes to rub my back so I can sleep in peace,” Kagome answered.

“Have you…have you ever…” Ayume couldn't finish her question, but Kagome knew what she wanted to ask.

“No…I had never had sex of any kind when this happened. I felt like he ripped me apart with a knife,” Kagome answered.

“I…I had to have stitches where he ripped me and take one of those morning after pills to make sure I didn't get pregnant,” Ayume said through her sniffles.

“I...I didn't have to worry about that. He didn't care what he was doing and went in the other way. He did a lot of damage. That's why I've lost so much weight. I've been on a liquid diet so my insides can heal.” Kagome pulled Ayume back to her and cried some more. She was suddenly glad she had someone else she could talk to. Kagome had not been able to talk to her mother about it, and she knew InuYasha had been blaming himself for it. Sesshomaru was right. The only one at fault was Kouga. It was going to be difficult to get over, but she had to start forcing herself to believe it.

“Ayume, do you still blame yourself for what happened?” Kagome finally asked her.

“Sometimes…my mother found a support group for me to talk to. It really helped. That was why I came. I…I knew you had to find someone to talk to and let it out. I'm glad you let me. You won't let any of the others know, will you? You're the only one in school who knows.”

“Don't worry, I will never tell them. Kami help us if Eri found out and decided she could fix it,” Kagome said with a smile.

Ayume actually laughed, but then asked, “What about InuYasha? What does he think?”

“I didn't think he would ever want me after what happened, but he says he does not blame me, that it wasn't my fault. He's been blaming himself because he wasn't strong enough to stop all of them. He's been gentle and kind and trying to help me heal. He'll wait until I am ready,” Kagome told her.

“He's not really a typical guy, is he?” Ayume asked.

“You have no idea,” Kagome smiled as she answered. InuYasha was far, far better than she ever deserved, plus he had those great ears.

Kagome walked Ayume out and went back in to find InuYasha alone in the living room, stretched out on the couch. He could smell the salt of her tears, hell he could smell the flood coming from her room, but thought it might be a good thing she had another girl to talk to.

Kagome picked his head up and laid it in her lap when she sat. She started rubbing his ears before she asked, “InuYasha, do you still blame yourself?”

“Everyone tells me not to, that there was no way for me to know, but it's hard,” he replied through his rumbling chest.

“I know what you mean. I've still been blaming myself, too. But the only one really at fault is Kouga, isn't it.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Keh. It's just not so easy to accept that I could not have done something.”

“InuYasha, you know I do not blame you, don't you?”

“Keh. But you can't blame yourself, either. You didn't do anything wrong.”

“That's what I was just trying to tell Ayume.”

“It happened to her, didn't it?” InuYasha asked gently.

“How did you know?”

“Her scent when they came over before. It was a combination of worry, fear…it's hard to explain except that she was very unhappy with the other girl's questions. She wanted her to stop.”

Kagome leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you, InuYasha.”

“Keh?”

“For still wanting me, for soothing my fears at night, and for making my nightmares go away. For being here with me.”

InuYasha reached up and pulled her face back down to his and kissed her again. “Keh. I'll never go away if you keep rubbing my ears like that.”

Kagome kissed him one more time and tackled his ears again. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent as his chest softly rumbled.

~ ^~^ ~

Kagome was feeling better every day. It had helped them both when they found the “cure” to Kagome's nightmares. Both Kagome and InuYasha were satisfied and content when they fell asleep each night; Kagome wrapped in the warmth of InuYasha's body. The hard part was not making too much noise. She didn't want her mother to find out her miracle cure.

InuYasha's only problem had been when Kagome was fertile. He wanted so badly to take her, but knew he couldn't - not yet. At least Kagome was willingly relieving his tension that so desperately needed to be released. Kagome had innocently wanted to sleep together in the nude as they had in the cave, but InuYasha said they better not. He used her mother as an excuse, but in truth he was afraid he might do something in his dreams that could not be undone. He didn't want to risk ruining anything.

~ ^~^ ~

The ten days had seemed like a lifetime. There were only so many flavors of broth and Jell-O, and Kagome was ready for real food again. Mama Higurashi carried her to her doctor's appointment to be checked out. They had convinced InuYasha that he really did not want to go, and they would try not to be gone too long. He knew they were right so he stayed home. He could make himself some Ramen while they were out. The hanyou was starting to get restless, but knew all he could do was wait. The last thing he wanted to do would be to rush Kagome back and have her do something to hurt herself, and have to start this all over again. InuYasha wanted her to get well so he could finally take her to Sesshomaru so he could take her as his mate.

He was thinking about what Sesshomaru had told him back at the well, and what Kagome had said, too. As much as he didn't want to share Kagome, even more so he did not want anything like what happened to her to ever happen again. Plus, he'd surprised even himself that day it was the three of them. He was not jealous of his brother at all when Kagome brought him the same pleasure she had InuYasha. Kagome was right; they would have to cross that bridge when they got to it.

InuYasha was becoming pretty adept with the remote control after ten days of mostly hanging out in the living room with Kagome. He started surfing through the channels and suddenly came to a stop. His eyes opened wide - they really did do that on the `TV.' He could not help but watch - sometimes two, sometimes three, every combination imaginable. When he couldn't stand it any more he turned it off and ran upstairs. He really needed a cold shower.

InuYasha had donned a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and was sitting in Goshinboku when Kagome and her mother returned from the doctor. He hopped down to go and meet them.

Kagome was in a good mood. The doctor had declared her fit to start transitioning back to solid foods. She also needed to gain some weight back, so they told her she could have all of the ice cream and pudding and other high calorie foods she wanted. She had to go through soft foods before she got back to things like beef and chicken (and wild boar and rabbit). But at least she could eat something different now. She didn't care if she ever saw another bowl of Jell-O again. She could also have things like noodles - InuYasha would not have to sneak his Ramen any more when she wasn't looking.

InuYasha went to the market with them to buy new foods for Kagome. Mama had the transitional list from the dietician as they went up and down the aisles looking for things that Kagome could eat the next few days. Once they had found enough to keep her happy, they checked out and headed home. Mama still had some other errands to run so she dropped them and the groceries off and headed back out again.

InuYasha helped Kagome put the groceries away (he knew right where the Ramen went) and then they wandered back into the living room. Kagome took the remote and flipped on the TV. Her eyes opened wide - what had InuYasha been watching? InuYasha saw the look on her face; he just knew he was going to get sat. Then, he smelled the spike in her arousal as she watched the scene playing out on the screen. She flipped over to a more innocent channel and tossed the remote aside before she threw herself on InuYasha. She thrust her tongue in his mouth as she reached in his sweats and started to stroke him. InuYasha just moaned, picked her up, and carried her up the stairs.

Kagome reached over and pulled InuYasha's shirt over his head and then did the same for hers. She still was not wearing any underwear - she had started to enjoy the freedom. As she kissed InuYasha again she reached inside his sweats and started rubbing. InuYasha moaned as he trailed kisses down her throat and landed on her now perfectly healed breast. As he sucked and teased one nipple with his mouth, he teased the other with his thumb and palm. He free hand slid down inside her sweats and he started stroking her in the rhythm she was stroking him.

He had to abandon her breast when he gasped, “Oh, Kagome…oh…fuck…”

She knew he was close and dropped to her knees, pulling his sweats down with her. He knew it was not going to be long when he felt her warm, wet mouth engulf him. He had his hands in her hair as he started to thrust into her.

“Oh…harder…harder…oh `gome…”

Kagome tightened her grip with both hands and drove harder until finally he exploded. He held her head still as he finished pumping. Kagome swallowed and then licked him clean. As she stood back up, he brought her into another deep kiss, tasting his saltiness in her mouth. As they kissed, his hand found its way back into her sweats, and his finger was exploring. Kagome moaned her approval as he started using his finger to pump her.

Unable to resist the scent any longer, InuYasha pulled her sweats down and then off, setting her on the edge of the bed. He lowered himself to his knees and went to work with his tongue and fingers.

“Oh, Kami, I…In…nu…ya…sha…don't…stop…harder, oh…my…”

InuYasha was driving in hard and fast with his tongue, and flicking her clit in rhythm with his claw. Before he knew it, she was again trying to strangle him as she wrapped her legs around his neck and tried to bring him in even closer. When she finally released, he drove his tongue in and held it, then pulled out to gently lick her clean.

“Oh, my InuYasha. That's even better when I don't have to be quiet.”

“Keh.”

“We should probably take a shower before Mama gets back home.”

“Keh?”

“Get your clothes, let's go.”

InuYasha gathered his discarded clothes and went for his second shower that day. He wasn't complaining as he followed her down the hall.

Mama came home to find Kagome and InuYasha innocently sitting on the couch watching television. However, she didn't miss the dampness of their hair. She could sometimes hear the moans at night that she knew they were trying to hide. Mama Higurashi knew her daughter loved the Hanyou, and she was pretty sure he loved her. His actions in caring for her spoke louder than any words ever could. She knew she would need to talk to them soon.

~ ^~^ ~

It had been fourteen days since InuYasha had brought Kagome home and told his brother what had happened. InuYasha knew Sesshomaru would be waiting by the well and that he needed to go back and let him know it may be another week or so before Kagome could come back. She was finishing the soft diet, but was still underweight and still hadn't really had real food yet.

“Kagome? Sesshomaru told me he would be back today to check on you. I need to go and tell him how you are doing. Do you want to go, or do you want me to go alone? I am going to tell him it will probably be a few more days before you are well enough to think about going back.”

Kagome looked at him for a moment before she replied, “I'd like to go with you. I want to thank him and we can let him know what our plans are. Okay?”

“Plans?” InuYasha asked.

“You do still want me as your mate, don't you?” Kagome asked quietly - she was afraid he had changed his mind.

“Yes, but not until you are well, and you are ready. I don't want anything to happen to you,” InuYasha replied.

Kagome kissed him. “Don't worry, the doctor said I am doing really well. It'll be Okay.”

“You want to go and see if he's waiting? Kaede will want to know how you are doing as long as we're there.”

“Let's tell Mama where we are going so she won't worry.”

“Keh.”

They told Mama Higurashi that they were going back long enough to give Sesshomaru an update as well as Kaede so she would not worry. They planned to be back before dinner. With that, they walked out to the well house together. InuYasha picked Kagome up and jumped in.

Sesshomaru was waiting when they leaped out on the other side. He stood as InuYasha set Kagome on her feet. Much to his surprise, Kagome immediately came over and kissed him on the cheek.

“Sesshomaru, I can't thank you enough for saving us. I know we would have died if you had not come when you did,” Kagome said.

“Keh,” InuYasha said in agreement.

“I could do no less. Are you well, Miko?” Sesshomaru responded. He was thinking she looked thin and frail.

“I lost weight because of the diet I was on. I could not have real food for over a week and I'm just now starting back on solid foods. I need to gain some weight back and my strength before I come here for a prolonged period of time,” Kagome answered, then continued, “But the doctor…healer…said I am doing very well and should be almost back to normal in another week or so. It will take longer to gain the weight I lost back, but at least I should start to feel stronger.”

“I understand. What are your plans, then? Has InuYasha told you what we discussed?”

InuYasha had moved up behind Kagome and wrapped his arms around her. “She knows. We'll come back and come to you when we are ready.”

“InuYasha? I think I am going to be ready once I regain my strength. I do have one question, though. Where are we going to do this?” Kagome blushed as she responded.

“Where?” InuYasha asked.

“Well, if Sesshomaru has to participate, we can't do it at home. It will have to be somewhere here. I don't really want you to take me as your mate out here by the well,” Kagome replied with a smile.

“I will take you to my home. We will not be disturbed there,” Sesshomaru replied.

“Your home?” Kagome and InuYasha asked together.

“Technically, it should be InuYasha's home as well. It was the home of our father,” was his response.

“Are…are you sure?” InuYasha asked, a little worried. “Your staff will not be displeased you brought a hanyou and a human home with you?”

“Rin is already there. Any staff that had a problem with her has been dismissed. Those that remain know that I do not tolerate either disobedience or disrespect to any guest in my home.” Sesshomaru was not interrupted, so he continued, “Have you thought about what else we discussed?”

“We've talked about it, but have not made a decision yet. However, there seem to be more pros than cons,” Kagome answered.

She saw the looks on their faces and clarified, “There seem to be more advantages than not.”

InuYasha said quietly, “I've been thinking the same thing. I don't ever want what happened to you to ever happen again. If Sesshomaru marks you, no one would ever dare lay a hand on you.”

Kagome looked at them both seriously and blushed again as she said, “The only way I could do it would be with both of you, like we did in the cave that day. If Sesshomaru has to be there to watch anyway, he might as well really participate. Sesshomaru, do you want to meet us here in another seven days to take us home with you?” Kagome asked.

“That is acceptable. I will let my staff know you are coming to prepare for your arrival. I am sure Rin will be pleased to see you as well. I will see you in seven days.” With that, Sesshomaru turned into the ball of light and vanished to the west.

Kagome wrapped her arms around InuYasha and kissed him. “You sure you are going to be okay with this?”

“Yeah. I already thought about it - I was surprised I was not jealous that day. I thought I would be, but I wasn't. All I know is for damned sure that I don't want anyone else to do to you what Kouga did, because they refused to honor my claim. I can't help what I am, but I want you for mine all the same. And since you said you could accept him and do as he wished, I'll be okay with it.”

Kagome kissed InuYasha again. “Should we go visit Kaede before we go back?”

“Keh.”

They were holding hands as they walked up the path to Kaede's hut. They did not find her there, but InuYasha's nose told them she was tending her herb garden. She stood as they approached her.

“Kagome, child. Are you all right? They said that wolf-demon badly hurt you,” Kaede said as she walked towards them.

“I'm getting better. I just came back for a little while today to let you know I am okay,” Kagome replied.

“You look so thin,” Kaede said with worry in her voice.

“I could not have any real food for over a week. I could only have different types of liquids so my insides had time to heal. I'm just now starting back to more solid food,” Kagome answered. “They said I should start feeling more like myself in another week or so.”

Kaede saw InuYasha's dejected look, his ears lying flat out. “InuYasha, you are not still blaming yourself for this, are you?”

“I know it was Kouga's fault - I just still feel bad it happened.”

Kagome squeezed his hand. “We're trying not to blame ourselves, it just is not easy. We thought Kouga was our ally, even a friend. It's hard to believe he would do something so cruel after everything we did to help him. He would have died several different times if InuYasha had not saved him.”

Kaede looked at the two. “Something has changed between you, has it not?”

Kagome blushed. “What happened with Kouga made us realize that we should have been more clear about our feelings for each other. Being that close to death brings a harsh reality to everything.”

“Keh.”

“InuYasha, I met your brother,” Kaede said in reply.

InuYasha reddened. “He told me. He said you fed him.”

Kagome looked at both of them. “Kaede offered him a meal, and he accepted?”

“He seemed interested in how I knew you,” Kaede responded.

Kagome was starting to blush again. “So you told him…”

“The whole story,” Kaede finished.

“Oh well, I guess we won't have any secrets from him,” Kagome said.

Kaede wondered what that meant, but did not ask.

Kagome started to sag a bit. “Oi, I better get you home. You don't have all of your strength back yet,” InuYasha said as he picked Kagome up.

“Bye, Kaede.” Kagome waved as InuYasha whisked her away and back to the future.

InuYasha carried Kagome back into the kitchen. It had been recommended that she have a number of smaller meals as her body adjusted back to regular food. The only thing InuYasha really knew how to fix in the modern kitchen was Ramen, so he was making some for both of them when Mama Higurashi came back in.

“You are back. Was everything okay?” Mama asked.

“We saw Sesshomaru, and I thanked him again for saving us. We also went and saw old Kaede to let her know that I was all right.” She was not interrupted so Kagome continued, “They both noticed how thin I am, and I told them I would stay here at least another week until I start to gain some weight and get some of my strength back.”

Mama breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid they would try to hurry back. She took a deep breath and said, “There's something I need to discuss with you both.”

Kagome and InuYasha were both looking at her so she continued, “I could not help but notice you both had damp hair when I came back home the other day, and I can sometimes hear you at night even though you are trying to keep the noise down.”

Kagome and InuYasha were both blushing, but Kagome replied, “Mama, we haven't really done anything. We've just fooled around some. I…I'm still a virgin.”

“Keh.”

“Mama, don't blame InuYasha. He has not done anything I didn't want him to do. He's the one who insisted we wear pajamas to bed even though I was more comfortable naked.”

That got Mama's attention. “I just don't want you to rush into anything after what happened.”

“Don't worry, Mama. We aren't. InuYasha, will you let me talk to Mama alone?”

“Keh.” InuYasha threw away his Ramen cup and headed out to his favorite tree.

“Mama, you know I love InuYasha. I know I want to be with him more than anything. It took this horrible incident for us to admit how we felt about each other. InuYasha was finally able to tell me why he kept pushing me away, what his fears were. It was not easy for him. He has not made a move that I did not ask him to. I could not believe he still wanted me after what happened. I thought he didn't any more when we got back. I would stand there naked before him and all he would do was check my cuts to make sure they were healing. I had to know…and then we found out it helped my nightmares go away.”

“Kagome, honey, it's all right. You are not a little girl any more. I just don't want you to get hurt again. Are you sure InuYasha can wait until you're ready?” Mama knew the answer, but asked anyway.

“I'm sure, Mama. Why don't you go out and talk to him?” Kagome replied. “I'm tired, so I'll go lay down.”

Mama got up and headed out to the bench under Goshinboku and sat down. “InuYasha, will you come here, please?”

InuYasha jumped lightly down from the tree and sat next to Mama Higurashi.

“Kagome was telling me that you really haven't done anything with her but fool around some.”

InuYasha looked puzzled, so Mama added, “You've never…well she's still a virgin.”

“Keh.”

“InuYasha, are you sure you can wait until Kagome is really ready for you?”

“I've waited this long. I will not do anything that might hurt her.”

“You understand she's really a virgin, she's never been with someone that way.”

“Yeah. I know. She's not the only one. You asked me at the hospital if we had ever, and I told you no. It was the truth. I've never been with anyone that way, either.”

Mama's eyes opened wide, she couldn't believe it. InuYasha added, “I'm just a half-breed. Neither human nor demon would have anything to do with me, other than try to kill me. Kikyou only wanted me if I would become human for her. Kagome is the first one who ever accepted me as I am.”

“I…I had no idea…” was Mama's soft response, then she asked, “Do you know what you want to do?”

“When Kagome's well, when she is ready, I want to take her as my mate,” InuYasha responded.

“Mate?” Mama asked.

“We would be bound together for life,” InuYasha answered.

“Like marriage?”

“Keh.” InuYasha at least had some understanding of that concept thanks to Sango and Miroku.

“Does Kagome know?”

“We discussed it right after Sesshomaru saved us, when we finally realized we wanted to be together. It came up again after we got back. She was afraid I did not want her anymore. I was afraid I would hurt her. I never want to see her hurt again.”

“InuYasha, have you discussed the possibility of children?” Mama asked.

“Pups?” InuYasha asked. “That hasn't come up. I know that things move a lot slower here than they do in the past. There she would have been married off and have three or four kids already. Here she's still taking tests.”

Mama had to laugh, but then got serious again. “If you took her as your mate, would you be upset if she didn't have pups right away?”

“I just want to be with her, do what's best for her. If she needs to wait, I will wait.”

Mama pulled him into a hug and headed back in the house. InuYasha followed her in.

He found Kagome stretched out on the couch. He gently lifted her head and sat down placing her head in his lap. She reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss.

“You and Mama have a talk?”

“Keh. Kagome, have you thought about pups?”

Kagome almost giggled, she had not thought of calling her children that. “Yes and no. I still want to finish school, but I want to be with you too. You know they think I am too young for children in this era.”

“Keh. I can tell when you're in heat, but that's when it is hardest to keep my self-control. It will be even harder when you're really my mate. My youkai will naturally want to take you then if I'm with you.”

“InuYasha, we have ways here to deal with it. I can get a shot so we don't have to worry until we are ready.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You want me to talk to Mama about it? I have to go back to the doctor in a few days anyway.”

“Okay.”

Kagome fell asleep with InuYasha softly stroking her hair.

To be continued…