InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Coming of Age ❯ 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Coming of Age
By: Demonsaya

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3

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'Supid mutt...can't even die properly...' Kouga growled, sitting beside the well, idly licking Inuyasha's blood off his claws. He always knew that hanyou's were useless. And since this one didn't even die so he could claim the girl as his mate infuriated the demon to no ends. "And now that useless mutt is over there in Kagome's world...where I can't go...probably marking and rutting with her as I speak...SHIT!" He slammed his fist into the ground in anger.

He felt himself growing more and more angry and dug deep trenches into the ground with his claws. 'If she mates with him...I'll kill her...If I can't have her, I sure as hell wont let him have her...'

He snarled, then paused, his anger lestening for a moment. "If that hanyou tells her who beat the shit out of him...she'll come here to yell at me...and I'll make her mine then..." He decided, with a grim smile. "The bitch is as good as mine."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

'Kagome...Kagome, where are you?!' Inuyasha thrashed, feeling someone practically dragging him out of the well. "Kagome..." He rasped, opening his eyes. "Kagome..." She wasn't there. He'd made it through the well, he could tell because the girls little brother was looking over him his eyes filled with concern.

Something cool was pressed against his wounds and he hissed. He was still dressed in his haori and yukatta, he could tell because his blood caused them to stick painfully against the wounds. "Kagome..." He whimpered. He needed to see her.

"Just rest, Inuyasha...Kagome's on her way..."

He shifted pain-clouded eyes to the person who spoke. His mates mother. "Need...Kagome..." He rasped, grabbing her wrist in his hand. "Please..." He whimpered.

Souta looked at his mother, then ran up to Kagome's room. He dug around his sister's hamper, finding one of her school uniforms. 'This should work. I bet her scent is all over this...it should calm him down until she gets here!' He smiled at his brilliance, and ran downstairs, laying the uniform across his chest.

'Her scent...' Inuyasha inhaled her scent thirstily, like a man who'd been stranded in the desert for days. 'Kagome's scent...' A tiny smile flitted across his face and he allowed his eyes to fall closed and for himself to drift into unconsciousness.

Souta looked at his mother, his eyes wide in concern. "Mom...is he going to be okay?" He asked, eyes swimming. He'd never seen his hero so completely trashed, and it was scary to think that someone as strong as Inuyasha could get so hurt.

His mother reached over, gently patting his hand. "Don't worry, Souta. I'm sure he'll be fine, we just need to stop the bleeding, and wait for Kagome to return..." She looked at the hanyou and gently mopped his head with a wash cloth. Deep down, she hoped very much that she was right.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"Kagome...wait...up...!"

Kagome turned, looking towards her friend. She had her crutches in one hand and her books in the other. She didn't care so much about her ankle, if Inuyasha was hurt, then she needed him. She didn't have time to hobble home!

Ayumi looked at her friend, very strangely. "Are you sure your ankle's really hurt?" She teased.

"I don't have time to play around, Inuyasha could be dying!"

The other girl raised her hand. "Then hail a cab, stupid." She said, watching as one stopped in front of them. She watched her friend climb into the cab and climbed in behind her. "Sunset Shrine. Pronto."

The cabbie winked at them, and spun the car around, in a u-turn in the middle of traffic. "ROGER!" He shouted in English.

The girls clung to each other, terrified as the driver pealed through the streets. Kagome made a silent prayer that they made it home alive.

They did.

Kagome hobbled quickly up the steps and cried out in horror. There was a trail of blood from the wellhouse, all the way towards her home. "Inuyasha!" She cried, trying to hobble faster than she really could. She heard Ayumi hurrying behind her and chanced a glance at her friend.

"Kagome, we need to call a hospital..." She whispered. "This much blood loss, he's going to die!"

"NO." Kagome said firmly, kicking off her shoes quickly and going into the shrine. She set her crutch into a puddle of blood and cursed, feeling it slip. She managed to get a better hold on the ground and looked around. "Follow the blood, huh..." She muttered darkly. "When I find out who did this, I'm going to kill them..." She whispered, dropping her crutches and hopping up the stairs, not caring that the blood was soaking into her socks. She made it to the bathroom, where her mother, grandfather, and brother were frantically trying to get the bleeding stopped.

Ayumi followed her far more cautiously. A moment later, Kagome hopped towards her room, and began digging through an oversized camping bag. "Kagome?"

"Just give me a second!" She snapped. She found the book she was looking for and opened it, digging out the necessary herbs. "Mama can do this..." She muttered, then hopped back to the bathroom. "Mama, I need you to make this! Just follow the instructions, it's really easy." She handed the book and herbs to her mother. "Souta, I need you to bring me some bottles of water, I've got to keep him hydrated-"

"KAGOME!" Ayumi finally yelled.

"What?" Kagome looked at her.

"He's lost too much blood! He's going to die!"

Kagome snorted. "Inuyasha die?" She began to laugh. "He's a half-demon, Ayumi-chan. He's been healing since he stopped moving." She said, reaching down, and beginning to strip Inuyasha's top half. His haori and yukatta were covered in blood. His hakama weren't much better off. She sat him up and glanced towards her friend. "Look at the ears, Ayumi. He's not like us, trust me. I've seen him live through worse than this..."

Ayumi nodded stiffly, moving into the room. "B-but...how is this..."

"I'll tell you later...here!" She shoved the hanyou's clothes to her grandfather. "These need to get to the wash." She said evenly.

The girl watched her friend flit quickly over the boy and a nasty realization hit her. "You never really get sick, do you..."

Kagome shook her head. "No time to explain. I need you to bring me that first aid kit behind you." She pointed, nodding in approval when the girl complied, albeit stiffly. "Inuyasha...hang on..." A deep breath whooshed out of her as she grabbed the kit and popped it open.

Souta came in a moment later, carrying the bottles of water. He uncapped one, carefully lifting the hanyou's head and poured the water over his lips.

The unconscious boy coughed, sputtered, and then began to swallow the water reflexively.

Kagome nodded in approval, leaning over to whisper to the hanyou. "That's right, Inuyasha, you need to drink...don't worry, I'm here, I'll take care of you..." She caressed his hair, then looked at Ayumi. "Pass me the washcloth behind you and the alcohol.

The girl nodded, focussing on the task, and gave her friend a brief glance. Kagome wore a serious expression on her face, if not a completely determined one. "He's really a half-demon?" She asked, watching as Kagome began to clean off the wounds. They looked very thing, yet rather deep, and almost as soon as Kagome cleaned off one, it began to pour blood again.

"Hold him down. I'm going to have to clean the wounds, and maybe stitch them shut to stop the bleeding..." She hated this part. Alcohol burned like crazy, and Inuyasha, in the state he was in, might hurt someone if he wasn't sufficiently pinned to the floor. Souta firmly grabbed one hand, while Ayumi grabbed the other, and Kagome straddled his waist, while soaking the rag with the cleaning solution. She closed her eyes, and rested it on the first wound. 'I'm sorry.' She pressed down, and Inuyasha responded violently, as predicted.

He hissed, growling and spitting, thrashing against those that held him down. The burning died down in those wounds, and then there it was again, causing him to cry out in pain. 'Hurts...' He mentally whimpered. 'Stop...stop...it hurts...'

By the time she'd finished cleaning the wounds, Inuyasha had worn himself down a good bit, and had just lay there, whimpering softly. Her mother came in a short time later, and looked down at the hanyou in concern. "Kagome-chan, is he alright?"

"I think his wounds are closing...the bleeding's almost stopped...Do you have the poultice?" She asked, looking at her mother, who passed her a large square of linen. Gently, Kagome rested it against his chest, and taped it into place. "Help me sit him up, so I can wrap it..." She saw her mother nod, and she climbed off his lap, beginning to bandage the wounds tightly. He whimpered softly under her ministrations, and a moment later, stiffened, then went limp. Kagome wiped some sweat from her forehead and closed her eyes, embracing the boy gently. "Move him to my room, okay?" She asked, looking at her mother for permission.

The woman nodded. "He should be kept comfortable." She said softly. "Ayumi, Grandpa, if you'd help me?"

They both nodded, and carefully carried the unconscious hanyou from the room.

Kagome sat in the blood covered bathroom, and sank backwards, sitting down on the floor, leaning back against the shower wall. "All this blood is going to be difficult to clean up later..." She murmured. Not just off the room, but off her as well...

Souta nodded in agreement, then he crept over, hugging his sister tightly. "I was scared, Kagome-nee-chan..." He whispered. "I thought Inu-no-niichan was going to die!" His eyes teared up and he looked up at his sister. He trembled, and when his sister embraced him, he broke down. "He was so cold...and still...so much blood...I was so scared!"

Kagome gently stroked her brother's hair. "It's okay, Souta...Inuyasha's fine. He's really strong, remember?" She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. "We have to have faith in him."

A moment later, Ayumi appeared in the doorway. "Kagome, you asked me to come along, and now I'm part of this. I want to know the truth about this. Now."

Kagome took a deep breath, then looked at Souta. "Souta, go on, Ayumi-chan and I'll clean up..." She shooed her brother from the room and found two yukatta folded in a cabinet that weren't blood soaked. "It's a long story, Ayumi-chan. I met Inuyasha on my fifteenth birthday." She glanced towards her friend.

"I thought all demons were dead. I thought they died at the end of the feudal era..."

"They did, as far as we know, but lately I've begun doubting this. Even back then, unless you were a priestess or a monk, it could be really difficult to tell if that beautiful person you're looking at is human or demon."

"Back...then...?"

Kagome laughed lightly. "That's right, I haven't told you about that part. Okay, Souta was looking in the wellhouse for Buyo, our cat. Grandpa always made very certain that we DIDN'T play in it as children, he always said it was unsafe. Well, I went inside, because Souta was scared-"

"WAS NOT!" Souta said, passing the room with a mop.

Kagome closed the door. She picked up the spray nozzle and began hosing down the tile room. "When I reached the bottom, I noticed something funny about the well. A moment later, a centipede demon exploded out of it, and pulled me in...and I went back in time five hundred years."

Ayumi looked at her, startled. "W-what?!"

"That was where I first saw Inuyasha..." She said softly, spraying the blood down the center drain. "He was pinned to Goshinboku with an arrow to the chest..." She blushed, smiling. "It was odd, I didn't even worry that he was wearing strange clothing, or that he had white hair. I just walked straight up to him and started playing with his ears." She giggled.

Ayumi smiled dreamily. "They are awfully cute...do you think he'd mind terribly if I asked if I could?"

Kagome laughed. "He really doesn't like having his ears played with..." She became very serious suddenly, looking longingly towards the bath. "We should get cleaned up." She said.

The other girl nodded in agreement. "I feel genuinely icky. Can you continue the story, though?"

Kagome nodded, starting a bath for herself. "Naturally." She said, sinking into the warm water while Ayumi climbed into the shower. She told about the battle against the centipede demon, then the crow, and the shattering of the jewel. When she got to the point where she mentioned Inuyasha's brother, she heard a dreamy sigh from the shower.

"Is he incredibly hot, too?" Ayumi asked, trying to imagine what Inuyasha's brother would look like, would he be more rugged, or pretty?

Kagome choked. 'Sesshoumaru? Hot?' She shook her head. "I don't know if I'd call him hot, he's very beautiful. When I first saw him, I kinda thought he was Inuyasha's sister..." She giggled softly. "He's got white hair and gold eyes, like Inuyasha...probably six inches or so taller..." She shook her head again. "He and Inuyasha don't get along very well..."

"Ah, pity..."

Kagome chuckled, and continued on with her story. When they were clean, they dried off, and wrapped themselves in the yukatta's, walking towards Kagome's room. Kagome was tired. "Ne, Ayumi, I'm sleepy, okay? If you want, I'm sure mom wont mind if you sleep in the living room..."

"Where will you sleep?"

Kagome smiled sadly, looking at Inuyasha. "I'll stay where I'm needed most. I'll finish the story in the morning." When Ayumi nodded, Kagome smiled, relieved. "Maybe Inuyasha'll be awake then, too, and he can help me..."

The girl nodded, and plodded down the now clean hallway.

Kagome walked into her room, closing the door behind her. Inuyasha lay on the bed, his face very pale. Tears filled her eyes and she walked towards him. "Inuyasha..." She whispered, sitting on the bed beside him. She brushed his hair from his face, cupping it between her hands. "Please, please, open your eyes...I need to see them..." She ran her fingertips across his face, tracing his cheekbones, brow, down to his chin.

He moaned softly, and his eyes opened a bit. "Kagome...?" He whispered softly.

She smiled, and a soft sob escaped her. "Inuyasha!" She whispered, carefully wrapping her arms around his chest. She wouldn't admit it to her brother, but when she'd come up the shrine stairs and saw the blood everywhere, it had terrified her. She pressed her face against his shoulder, beginning to cry. "I thought...I thought I'd lost you..." She whispered, lifting her face to look at him.

He snorted, lightly thumping her nose with a knuckle. "I thought you knew me better than that..." He said, giving her a cocky grin, before it twisted into a grimace. "Fucking wolf..." He muttered, looking down at his chest, which was now covered in bandages.

Kagome paled, then her face darkened with anger. "Kouga did this?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. She began to stand, and he grunted, grabbing her wrist.

"No, Kagome, if you go, you're playing right into his hands..." He rasped, his face urgent. "He was trying to keep me from coming to you so you'd go there...where he could..."

Her eyes widened. "Then you were right...He's in his, too..." Kagome looked down, her eyes saddening. "I was always afraid this might happen...He was my friend, you know?" She sat beside him again, and leaned into him as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

He rested his head against her's, closing his eyes. "I know, Kagome...just...stay...need...sleep..."

Kagome snuggled closer to the hanyou, resting against his chest. "I'm so happy you're alright..." She whispered, closing her eyes as well, and following her hanyou to sleep.

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"Why...isn't...she...here...yet?!" Kouga snarled, ripping holes into the ground. "Her stupid ass should have shown up hours ago!" He glared at the well from his hiding place among the trees, waiting for his mate to arrive so he could make her...well...his mate.

Miroku watched the wolf demon vent from his vantage point deeper in the forest. Beside him was the Taijiya, who was glaring darkly at the wolf-demon. Both of them had a brief opportunity to speak alone with Inuyasha, and found out Kouga's rituals towards mating, none of which involved asking permission. "What do you think it'd take to get him away from there?" Miroku asked the young woman beside him.

"Dunno." Sango, looked towards him, an evil glint in her eyes. "What did you have in mind?" A moment after she asked, she realized that this WAS Miroku, the lech, and it was probably going to be something horribly perverse.

He leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Well, if we went out there, pretending that we were going to make love, then I'm pretty sure he'd either interrupt of have the decency to leave. I'm not saying we actually have to do anything, but...lightly hinting at it should be fine."

She turned bright red. "How do you suggest we do that?!" She hissed, glaring at the houshi.

He blinked. "Well, just loosen your yukatta and run out there." He shrugged, not thinking she'd do it.

Evidentely today was a day for surprises, because she loosed the neck of her yukatta and kicked off one of her sandles. "Just remember..." She growled at him. "I'm just doing this for Kagome-chan."

He stared at her in shock as she ran, giggling towards the clearing. He said a quick thank you to Amida Buddah, and took off after her.

Kouga watched the two humans run into the clearing, and his face darkened, especially when the male called Miroku grabbed the demon huntress around the waist and drug her hips to his. "Ugh." He whispered in disgust. 'Humans about to fornicate...how disgusting!' He shuddered, and decided he could return when he caught Kagome's scent again.

Miroku turned so he could see Kouga over Sango's shoulder, and lowered his lips to her neck, pressing soft kisses along it. He kept his eyes trained on the wolf demon until he watched him disappear into the trees. He sighed, removing his lips from Sango's sweet skin, and resting his head against her shoulder. "He's gone. It should be safe for a little while if Kagome comes back."

Sango blushed, shoving the priest away as hard as she could. She straightened her yukatta and turned away from him, refusing to admit to herself just how much she'd enjoyed the feel of his lips against her neck. "Good." 'Stupid, STUPID! I wonder if this is how Kagome felt that time when we played that wicked little trick on Miroku and Inuyasha...'

He saw her standing stiffly in front of him and his eyes softened. He walked two steps towards her, and wrapped his arms around her gently. Without a word, he leaned forward, lightly kissing Sango on the cheek. "Do not be angry, Sango-sama." He said softly.

"Get your damn perverted hands off of me!" She snapped, shoving him away from her. 'It was just to chase that stupid wolf away. I don't like that pervert! I did NOT enjoy what he was doing to my neck I-'

Miroku grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away from him, and pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips against hers. He felt her entire body go limp against him and he sighed, pulling back a bit and giving her a small smile.

She stared up at him, wide-eyed. Then, she saw the smile on his face and her face darkened in anger. "You...JERK!" She shoved him away as hard as she could, and punched him.

"S-sango-sama?!"

She didn't say a word, she just turned on her heal and ran back towards the village.

Miroku watched her go with a dejected expression on his face. Yet, even as she ran, he couldn't get his eyes off of her hips. 'Child-bearing hips...what I wouldn't give for my little fantasy to become a reality.' He snorted, leaning against his staff. "I really am a jerk..." He muttered, glaring at the ground.

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Birds chirping...

Gentle wind caressing his bare chest...

'Where am I?' Inuyasha wondered, keeping his eyes closed.

There was a slight weight on his shoulder, and something slung carelessly across his waist. It felt like fingers were gently rubbing the base of his ears. He purred softly, turning his nose towards the person who was invoking such wonderful things in him. He burried his nose into her hair and sighed. "Kagome..." He whispered softly.

The girl opened her eyes, looking up at his face. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed. She smiled, snuggling a bit closer. "Good morning..." She said, kissing his cheek lightly. It was, by far, the best nights sleep she'd had in a long time. His eyes remained closed for a few more minutes before the bright gold eyes opened, looking down at her.

He flashed her a careless smile, and brushed some hair from her face. "'Morning." He agreed, touseling her hair lightly. He glanced down at his chest, looking at the bandages. He recognized the scent of the poultice as one Kaede would make and arched an eyebrow, running his hands over the bandages. "You?" He asked softly.

Kagome blushed, nodding. "But everyone helped. Even Ayumi-chan..."

"Your friend? How did you explain my ears?" He asked lazily, feeling her hand still gently massaging his left one.

She smiled. "I told her the truth. She took it easier than you'd think." She rested her head back against his shoulder. "I haven't finished telling her...I think I'd just gotten to the part where Kikyou came back..."

He glanced over at her. "Can't we let it sit at that? I don't like how those memories make you feel..." He saw a thoughtful look on her face and made a move to sit up, and instantly decided that was a bad idea. "Shit...stupid fucking wolf...can you believe this still hurts?!"

She laughed lightly. "You're lucky you're a hanyou! If you'd been human, you'd be dead!" The thought made her shiver. With that, she turned towards him fully, burying her face into his chest. "I was so worried!"

He gave her a funny look. "You didn't really think I'd die on you, did ya?"

She gave him a serious look. "Inuyasha, when I got here, you were bleeding, it took us well over three hours to get the bleeding to slow, much less stop!" She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I was scared for you!"

His face softened and he gently caressed her face. "You should know I'm never going to leave you..." He said, then gave her a quick thump on the nose. "So, what's for breakfast. Smells like your mom's cookin' something." He stretched, wincing a bit, and moving a hand to his ribs. 'Damn wolf...'

Kagome laughed lightly, standing. "I'll go find out..."

He caught her wrist. "Kagome..." He said, stopping her. "When will you give me my answer? I know I said I'd give you time...but-"

She smiled, leaning forward, kissing his nose lightly. "Don't worry, Inuyasha, as soon as we're both all better, you'll get your answer." She said, testing her ankle. "See, one week and I can already put some weight on it!" She smiled brightly. "Unfortunately, the other's sore because of the amount of hopping I did yesterday!"

He laughed softly, his eyes moving towards the spot on her neck where he would later mark her. "Have I told you today how much I want you?"

"Not yet." She said, smiling faintly, then she left the room, limping carefully away.

Inuyasha fell back against her pillows, noting that there was a distinct throbbing in his pelvic region and groaned softly, wondering how long that had been there, and praying that Kagome hadn't noticed. He glanced down at it, and held his breath, as he usually did in this situation. About a minute later, the erection softened and he breathed again. "Damn..." He muttered, scowling.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Kagome wandered from the room and down the stairs. In the living room, Ayumi and Souta were having an all out game system war, battling each other at, unless Kagome was drastically mistaking, Tekken 5. She rolled her eyes, and moved into the kitchen with a stretch. "Mama, whatchamakin?"

"Ah, ohayo, Kagome-chan!" Her mother flitted around the table, and pressed a kiss against either of Kagome's cheeks. "How fairs our sweet prince." She saw the expression of disgust her daughter's face twisted into and laught.

"Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" She glanced towards the skillet and saw pancakes and bacon and her stomach growled loudly.

Her mother giggled softly, glancing back at her daughter. "I AM your mother." The woman flipped the pancake on the skillet and glanced towards her daughter again. "How is he?"

Kagome sit down at the table and rubbed her neck. It was a little stiff from sleeping in a seated position last night. "He woke up for a little while last night, and he was conscious this morning, I think his wounds should be closed by lunch." She was pretty good at guestimating when Inuyasha's wounds would be healed because after three years of watching him get practically ripped apart, only to ment within a few days, or at most...a week.

If Inuyasha was anything, he was certainly resiliant.

"Have you made your decision?" Her mother gave her daughter a worried glance.

Kagome fiddled with a box of tea on the table. "I think so...I'm just not sure if I'm ready for this 'mate' stuff...It's strange you know. None of this has gone the way I hoped it would." She glanced at her mother and sighed. "I always thought it would be...more romantic, not quite so spur of the moment..."

"Well, sweety, guys aren't known to be particularly romantic." Her mother smiled, winking. "Your dad didn't have a romantic bone in his body!"

Kagome giggled. "He always seemed very sweet to you!"

"He was. But that doesn't mean he was romantic." She giggled, shaking her head. She tilted her head to the side, listening carefully. "Sounds like someone's in the bath, and considering Souta and Ayumi are both playing video games and Grandpa went to pray earlier, that leaves Inuyasha. You should find him a towel and a change of clothes."

Kagome nodded, standing. "Okay, I'll be right back." She wandered up the stairs and dug around the hall closet, finding the old trunk of her father's clothes and a spare towel. She found a nice dark blue yukatta and then a change of clothes for later, finding to her immense pleasure the black linen shirt and blue jeans he'd worn last time. She smiled, pulling them out as well. She'd put these in a safe place.

She stopped briefly in her room, dropping the change of clothes on the bed and stashing the clothes he'd worn on their first date in her dresser. She changed from the yukatta she'd been wearing since the night before into jeans and a t-shirt. With a sigh, she moved towards the bathroom, where she lightly tapped on the door.

She could hear the water running, and a strange sound that was caught between a grunt, a pant, and a moan. Curiously, she pushed open the door a bit and stepped into the steamy room. It didn't take her long to locate Inuyasha. He was in the tub, his head thrown back, his eyes closed in a grimace, and his hands in the tub with him.

Her eyes flew wide when she realized what he was doing and she turned a shade of red that is only known as 'true red'. Her jaw gaped and she backed up till she hit the wall of the bathroom. 'Ohmigod!' She mentally shrieked. 'He's...he's doing...THAT!' She couldn't even bring herself to think the word. She knew she should look away, but...she couldn't. She didn't know why, but she couldn't tear her eyes away.

'Great! Just great! Now I'm being a pervert! But I'm not a pervert! I'm NOT! Then WHY THE HELL AM I STILL WATCHING?!' Heat was pooling in her belly and it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was getting turned on by watching Inuyasha...doing that.

She didn't know how long she watched him, but suddenly, his entire body went rigid and he let out a strangled cry that sounded suspiciously like her name. Then, a few seconds later, he went limp, his head lolling to the side, his eyes still closed. 'Was he...thinking of me when he did that? I should be upset...but I think I'm kinda flattered...' She blushed, finally approaching him tentatively. "I...Inuyasha...?"

His eyes snapped open and he fixed his gaze upon her. "Kagome..." He breathed, idly wondering if this was still his fantasy, or if that really was Kagome standing there blushing.

"M-mom told me to get you a towel...and there's a change of clothes for you in my room..."

'She's stuttering...does that mean...holy shit, did she see me?!' He sat up, trying to hide himself from her view. "Th-thanks...I'll be down in a second..."

She set the towel and yukatta down on a stool, and began walking towards the door.

"Kagome..." He called, blushing clear down to his chest. He hoped she couldn't see it. "Were you watching me?" He asked softly.

She blushed darkly. "N-no..." She lied. Lied through her teeth.

He sniffed the air, realizing she was lying. "Oh..." He looked away, smiling a bit. 'Let her think I don't know...' He mentally nodded.

"Inuyasha..." She realized she couldn't ask without giving herself away. 'Dammit! I don't want him to think I'm a pervert...'

"Yeah?"

"Did you...did you think of me?" She asked, playing with the hem of her shirt.

His face softened and he looked back at her. Her back was to him, her head was lowered, and she seemed to be shuffling her feet shyly. He tightened his hand into a fist. "Yes." He whispered softly.

She went rigid, looking back at him. She'd expected him to deny it. She saw the gentle look on his face and turned bright red. "O...Oh..." She jerked the door open and fled down to the living room, where she collapsed onto the couch, trying to get rid of the blush that was painted to her cheeks. 'How in gods name am I going to look him in the face again?!' She screamed mentally, fisting her hands into her bangs to shield her face from the brother that was looking at her with distinct interest.

"Kagome-nee-chan, you're awfully red..."

Inuyasha picked that particular moment to walk into the room, looking like nothing had happened at all. The jerk.

Kagome's blushed darkened and she stood abruptly, aware of his eyes following her as she stormed into the kitchen. "Mama, remind me to NEVER walk in on Inuyasha in the bath again!" She hissed, sitting down at the table and burying her face in her hands. She couldn't remember feeling so awkward or embarassed in her life.

She heard Ayumi grilling Inuyasha for details of their life in Sengoku Jidai and grinned a bit. "I'm glad she's asking HIM." She muttered. "We'd gotten right to the part where Kikyou'd come back, and I really didn't-"

The door opened and Inuyasha strolled in, leaning over and pressing a kiss against Kagome's cheek. "Hi." He said, sitting next to her.

"MOU! Kagome! PLEASE finish the story! What happened after you found out Inuyasha became human once a month!!!" Ayumi came in a moment later, placing herself across from them both.

The ice officially shattered, Kagome glanced towards Inuyasha, who rolled his eyes. "Ne, Ayumi-chan, I told you how I met Inuyasha, can we drop it?" She asked, begging her friend to agree.

"But you didn't tell me how you two wound up a COUPLE!" Ayumi's eyes went all dewy. "And last week when you said he was your fiancee-"

Inuyasha choked on the tea Kagome's mother had given him and looked at Kagome with an arched eyebrow. "Wow, we're already engaged and you haven't even told me if you'll be my mate yet?" He whispered in her ear, teasingly.

She turned scarlet. "INUYASHA!" She hissed. "I can't just run around spouting stuff about mating in this time! When a boy asks a girl to marry him, they're engaged! Besides-"

He leaned over, kissing her cheek lightly, which effectively silenced her. "Shut up, bitch..." He whispered, affectionately in her ear. He allowed his tongue to snake out and he flicked her earlobe with it lightly.

Kagome turned scarlet.

Her mother turned around, a stack of pancakes on a plate and set them on the table. "Now you two, no flirting in front of Souta. He doesn't need to know that stuff yet..."

"MOM, I'm 13 for pete's sake..." Souta said, joining them at the table.

"Alas, they grow up so quickly!"

"Kagome! Tell meeeee!" Ayumi whined.

"NO!" Kagome snapped.

Needless to say, breakfast was lively. Inuyasha, of course, loved the pancakes, deciding that they were his next favorite food after ramen, which for him was saying alot. He saved her from a great deal of embarassment by stearing Ayumi's story away from the mating part, and telling about a few of his more spectacular fights, one of which of course included the battle with his brother Sesshoumaru, when the full demon had punched a hole through his stomach.

Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was also avoiding the topic of the 'girl he was two-timing with', and she was relieved about that. She'd already mentioned that she was the reincarnation of the priestess who'd sealed him, she didn't think Ayumi would be able to handle it if she found out the dead priestess had been revived and Inuyasha was...to put it simply, cheating on Kagome with the evil part of her soul.

"Come on, I know you two are leaving stuff out!" Ayumi objected.

Kagome looked at the table. "Ayumi-chan, some things are better left unsaid..." She smiled, her eyes closing, begging her friend to understand. 'Like me not telling Inuyasha that I love him, even though he's asked me to be his mate.' She fiddled with her fingers, and frowned softly, lifting her gaze to her mother. "Mama, can we go shopping today?"

"Sure, sweetheart. Ayumi-chan can come along, too." She saw the other girl bouncing cheerfully and smiled. "It's been awhile since I've gotten to go on a girl's day out..."

Inuyasha froze. "Girl's day out?"

"That's right, Inuyasha, you and Souta and Grandpa have to stay here." She said firmly, smiling. "It gives us girls an opportunity to gossip without puppy ears listening in..."

He pouted, scowling.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother had gotten her mental message. "Maybe we should get Inuyasha's measurements so we can get him some clothing for when he's here." She saw the mild embarassment on his face and smiled. "Maybe you can make him a yukatta for summer festival, too!" She smiled at her mother brightly.

"We'll see, baby." Her mother nodded. "That said, I think getting him his own clothing is an excellent idea. Come along, Inuyasha..."

The hanyou looked at Kagome as her mother walked past and grabbed him by the ear, dragging him away. He whimpered softly. "NO FAIR! Hey! Hey, that hurts!"

oooooooooooooooooooooo

About an hour of Inuyasha's bitching and moaning later, the three girls escaped down to the street, to go shopping for Kagome's favorite hanyou, each of them giggling and gossiping. "So, what was it that Inuyasha did that embarassed you so much?" Her mother asked, looking at her daughter and arching an eyebrow. Knowing the hanyou, it could have been anything, after all, he wasn't known to be the most modest person.

Kagome blushed again, shaking her head. "Um, I walked in on him..."

"Is that aaaaall?" Ayumi teased, arching an eyebrow.

Kagome blushed darker. "He was...playing with himself..." She muttered, angry with them for being so perceptive. "He didn't even realize I was in there..."

"Oh, he was masturbating?" Her mother glanced towards her, tilting her head to the side. "That's nothing to be embarassed about, dear." She said, smiling cheerfully. "It just means he has a perfectly normal male sex drive."

Kagome stared at her mother and wished she could sink into the sidewalk. "MOM, could we PLEASE not talk about this!"

Both of them laughed at her. "Kagome, dear..." Her mother gently ruffled her hair. "It's perfectly natural for him to do that, and it's equally as natural for you to be curious about the male body, you're eighteen, and he's a mature young male."

She ground her teeth together. "Mama...please...? Can't we just drop the subject?" She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I need to ask you if I can buy something...special for Inuyasha..."

"What were you planning on buying?"

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Inuyasha paced the floor in irritation, waiting for the girls to return. "What's TAKING them so long?!" He snapped, looking towards Souta, who was still engrossed in his video game.

"Just relax, Inu-no-niichan. They'll be back soon. I learned a LONG time ago that shopping is just an excuse to get away from the boys." Souta threw down his controller with a curse, when he died AGAIN.

The boy's words did nothing to pacify the hanyou. "They've been gone for three HOURS..." 'Get away from me?! That's it, Kagome has to spend the entire time from when they get back until we all go to bed with ME!'

"And they'll probably get lunch out, and be gone for another three." Souta glanced towards the hanyou matter-of-factly. "Besides, at least you know they're going to bring something home for you. Kagome only buys stuff for me on my birthday, or on boy's day."

"Boy's day?" Inuyasha asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah, Tango-no-sekku. May 5th."

Inuyasha made an 'ah' face. "Now, Tango-no-sekku I know..." He didn't know what the strange language the boy had used before, or what 'May 5th' was for that matter, but he understood Tango-no-sekku. "We celebrate that too..."

The boy grinned. "Sorry, sometimes, random Engrish comes out. It's nee-chan's fault."

"Engrish?"

"Yeah." Souta grabbed a piece of paper. "It's really called English, for England, the native country it's spoken in..." He wrote 'Boisu dai' in hiragana and showed it to Inuyasha. "See, this is what it would look like phonetically in Japanese."

Inuyasha sat down, and stared at it. "Really? Can you teach me some other stuff? It'd be nice to know what Kagome was saying all the time...she uses...Engrish?" At Souta's affirmative nod, he continued. "She uses it alot..."

Souta nodded. "Sure, why not, what do you want to know?"

"Let's start with..."

The next several hours flew by, and when Kagome and her mother returned, Inuyasha and the boy were sitting on the couch, with pieces of paper strewn around the room. Kagome picked one up and tilted her head to the side. It had hirigana phonetics, where really there should be katakana. She tilted her head to the side and held her mother back from walking fully into the room. "Shhh..."

"How about Eelektrisity?"

"Oh, that's..." He wrote the kanji down, then spelled it out phonetically.

Kagome blinked, looking at the pair in shock. Souta was teaching Inuyasha what she was saying, and what it meant. Her eyes softened and she smiled. She walked towards the pair and leaned over the shoulder, smiling. "Ne, Souta, your 'u' looks like a 'ri'." She teased, ruffling her brother's hair.

Inuyasha saw her face lean between his and the other boys and blushed faintly. "Kagome, you're back already?"

She pouted, listening to her mother move up to her room with the bags. "Yep. So you need to come upstairs and try on some stuff we bought you." She smiled brightly, holding one gift for him loose in her pocket. "Sorry, Souta, you'll have to release your hero from your grasp for a little while." She teased, giving Inuyasha's ear a gentle flick. Then she moved towards the steps.

She heard Inuyasha mutter something about a 'bitch', and how she had interrupted his 'lesson'. She rolled her eyes dramatically and glanced back towards him. "Well, Inuyasha, if you really want to go finish your 'lesson', then I guess I'll just have to go out by myself tonight." She said, smiling faintly.

"No you are NOT!" He snapped, storming up behind her, grabbing her around the waist and throwing her over his shoulder. She squealed, beating lightly on his back and laughing the whole time, so he knew she wouldn't sit him. He waited till her mother cleared out of Kagome's room and walked in, dumping her on the bed. "There, wench, I'm here. What's this stuff I need to 'try on'?"

She dug through a bag, pulling out a black silk shirt and some black slacks. When she looked up, she turned bright red as he was sky-clad and wearing naught but his birthday suit. She dug deeper into the bag and found underwear, which she tossed at him. "Put those on, please?" She said, blushing dark red.

He arched an eyebrow, looking at the cover. "What the hell are these?"

"Underwear!" She hissed, blushing dark red. "You wear those so you don't zip your privates to your pants!"

He winced at the idea, remembering almost catching his special manly place (As he thought of it), in the zipper of the jeans he'd worn last time. He frowned, opening the pack of 'underwear' and pulled a pair on. They were tight, which he didn't particularly care for, but they stretched, and were reasonably comfortable. "Okay, now what?"

She was digging through the bags again and glanced up only briefly. "Um, try on the slacks." She handed them to him, blushing darkly again. 'It took me hours to iron out all the details with mom for tonight...I can't really believe I'm going to do this! I get embarassed just by looking at him naked, and after I answer...'

"Okay."

She looked up and she blushed for an entirely different reason. Inuyasha stood there, his pants on, with nothing what so ever covering his chest. Her heart pounded in her chest and warmth pooled in her stomach for the second time that day. 'So...hot...my god, he looks like a damn pinup!'

Inuyasha examined Kagome's face closely when she looked at him again. A careful sniff made him blush and he arched an eyebrow, pouting. "What?" He asked, even though he knew damn well what. 'Shit...all of a sudden, she smells like she's in heat! DAMNIT! Maybe I shouldn't stay around her all night...'

"N-nothing..." She handed him the shirt, and watched as he pulled it on. He was about to button it up and she dove on the chance for some physical contact with him. "Can I?" She asked, standing and walking towards him deliberately. She saw his eyes widen and took his shirt in her hands.

He bit his lower lip as her hands slid from one button to the next, reaching about the third button from the top where her hands lightly fanned out across his chest. "Kagome..." He breathed, catching her hands before they could move anywhere else. He searched her eyes closely, putting the question in his eyes. When she nodded slowly, he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his. 'Soft...sweet, too...' He smiled against her mouth, considering parting her lips with his tongue, but she was already pulling away from him. He whined softly in protest.

Kagome giggled softly, pulling away fully. "Tuck in your shirt, silly." She said, digging through another bag and pulling out a belt. When his shirt was tucked in, she slid the belt through the first loop, cautiously meeting his eyes. He was looking down at her, a nervous expression on his face and she began to gently loop the belt around his waist. briefly, her arms went around him to pass the belt from one hand to the other. When she reached the front, she latched the belt, finishing it off, and glanced up at him again.

He gave her a shaky smile, taking her hand and kissing the back of it gently. He stepped back and turned for her. "Do I look acceptable, my lady?" He teased.

She smiled. "You look wonderful, Inuyasha...but then again, you always do..." She blushed faintly, then bit her lip. "Could you wait outside, I want to change really quick, okay?"

"What for? You look fine like you are." He reached out and touched her face lightly.

She smiled and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You'll forget what I'm wearing now when you see me later. Just give me an hour, okay?" She gave him dewy eyes and he melted.

"Okay...I'll just go downstairs and finish my lesson..."

She nodded, waiting until he was gone. With a sigh, she collapsed onto her bed, fishing the gift out of her pocket and setting it on the bed. She stared at it for a long minute and began to change. She fished through the rest of the bags, finding the dress she'd bought specifically for this evening, and laid it out as well, beginning to undress. She turned towards the mirror, examining herself closely. She opened her desk drawer, pulling out a compact and some eye make-up and lip gloss.

She applied them quickly and contemplated her hair, finally pulling it up into a french twist, pinning it carefully into place. A few wisps hung down around her neck and she decided not to pin those up as well. It would give Inuyasha a few strands to play with. She blushed at the thought and moved towards her dress, picking it up and putting it on. She glanced at the mirror and picked up her present, looking at it as she held it between her two fingers. "Here goes nothing..."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"Can't I just wear the hat?!" Inuyasha complained as Kagome's mother drug the brush through his rather matted hair.

"No, Inuyasha. It would spoil the look, don't worry, this'll be over soon."

"OW! Can't you be a little more gentle?!"

Souta watched his mother hide Inuyasha's ears with pins and then she brushed his hair back over them, pulling half of it into a loose ponytail about half-way down his head. The entire time the hanyou was cursing and spitting in irritation.

When it was all over, Inuyasha's ears were sufficiently hidden, and he still looked like he belonged on the front of one of Kagome's shojo manga.

"Is everything down here okay?"

Everyone in the room turned towards Kagome, who was the speaker and both males in the room's jaw dropped. Souta was the first to recover. "Go sis..." He muttered, standing and letting his mother lead him from the room.

The dress was made out of midnight blue silk, cutting wickedly low in the front, showing off a good bit of her cleavage. It hugged her body down to her hips, where it flared a bit. She did a full turn, displaying that the thing was almost backless, and it was held by two tiny scraps of fabric. Her hair was twisted up, but some of the more disobediant strands had fallen free, which just made her look even more wickedly fetching.

Inuyasha felt all of the blood in his body rush to the part of him that made him a man and he stepped closer to her, holding his breath, trying to get the blood flowing to the rest of his body. It was working...mostly. "Kagome...you look...wow..." He shook his head, trying to get the cobwebs out.

"Then you approve?" She watched as he nodded mutely, his eyes as big as saucers. She smiled happily. "Good, 'cause we're going out to dinner." She said, moving forward and linking her arm with his.

"Wha-?" She was going out like that?! He stopped moving forward. "Kagome, you can't wear that outside!" He whispered fiercely.

She paused, looking up at him, hurt. "But...why? I thought you liked it!"

He blushed, fiddling with the cuff of his sleeve. "I do like it...you look amazing...but other guys are going to see you in it and they're going to want to..." He blushed, looking away.

"Rut with me?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

He nodded, biting his lip.

She smiled. "But you're going to be there to protect me, so nothing will happen." She said, looking up at him and pulling him towards the door again. She had some mild reservations about wearing high-heals, but the satin sandles they'd picked had a wide base and plenty of ankle support, so she'd be fine. She lifted a shawl from a hook near the door and wrapped it around her shoulders for warmth, then put on her shoes.

To her surprise, Inuyasha was putting on a pair as well, and grumbling the entire time. It sounded something like: "Fucking shit I do for this bitch..." The words caused her to roll her eyes, and shake her head.

He got up, and offered her a hand, which she gratefully took.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." She said, smiling brightly at him.

He flushed, looking away. "'S nothin'..." He muttered as she slipped her arm through his and they headed towards the shrine steps.

Souta and his mother watched from the second floor, grinning at each other. "Ne, Mama, is Kagome gonna get laid tonight?"

She cuffed the side of his head lightly. "Don't be so crude, Souta."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Dinner went amazingly well, and Kagome felt like she was walking on cloud nine all the way home. Inuyasha's arm was carelessly slung around her shoulders, and she leaned against him, her own arm draped around his waist. "Ne, Inuyasha..." She glanced towards the park, and gestured with her head. "Remember that?"

He closed his eyes, a small, sad smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "Like it was yesterday..." He said softly, twirling a loose strand of hair around a finger. He opened his eyes and looked at her, and saw a sweet smile on her own face. "Kagome?"

"Hm?"

"Have you thought any more about my request...?"

She chuckled softly. "You never really made it a request, you know. You only said you wanted me to be your mate." She teased, glancing up at him.

He blushed. "Kagome-"

"Yes, I've been thinking about it, but this isn't the right place to talk about it, Inuyasha." She lifted her face to look at him, and gave him a tiny smile. "I have a present for you, though, that I think it's okay if you have here..."

He looked at her, a curious expression on his face. "A present?" He asked, recognizing the Engrish for what it was and mentally reminding himself to ask Souta to translate later.

She reached into her purse and found it. It was a simple gold band, and she smiled, pulling it out and catching his left hand carefully. "It's a ring." She said. She carefully placed the ring over his ring finger and smiled up at him. 'With this ring...I thee wed...' She mentally whispered, wanting to cry.

"What's it for?" He asked, looking at the yellow metal in curiousity.

She smiled sweetly. "I'll tell you when we get home."

They walked in silence for the rest of the way, each lost in their own thoughts.

'Oh, god, am I really sure about this?!' Kagome wondered, glancing up at the boy she'd silently pledged herself to when she'd put the ring over his finger. She watched him play with it, spinning it around his finger and glanced back at the road. She glanced down at her own ring finger, silently wishing that he understood the significance of the ring, because then she wouldn't have to answer his request.

Inuyasha stared at the ring as he spun it around on his finger. It felt strange, foreign, but it was a gift from the girl he wanted to be his mate, and he'd be damned if he did anything to piss her off when she seemed to be in such a good, if not hesitant mood. He looked up as they reached the shrine and sighed. They were back already, and Kagome still had not answered him. Since he was fully healed now, that would mean he would have to go back to his time and be away from her for another full week. His eyes saddened a bit. 'At least...at least I have this to take back with me...'

They entered the shrine in silence and walked up to Kagome's room. Inuyasha was surprised to see the mess that had once been scattered around the room had been cleaned up and carefully put away. He took a deep breath, seeing his own clothing folded neatly on her bed. "I...I guess I should change and go..."

She looked up at him in shock, her eyes filling with pain. "You wont stay with me?"

He looked away, staring out her window. "I can't...I promised to give you time-"

"Inuyasha-"

"And I keep my promises!" He turned towards her, grabbing her by her arms, giving her a light shake. "Kagome I want you. I want you more with every passing day, and that makes me dangerous to you. So until you give me a solid yes or no, I can't stay too close to you." He saw tears dancing in her eyes and felt his heart break. "Please...don't make this harder than it already is, Kagome..." He whispered, lifting a hand and gently brushing a tear that fell away.

"But Inuyasha...I..." She lifted her face to his. "I want to be with you!" She whispered fiercely, another tear following the first.

He looked at her, his eyes uncertain. "Kagome...what are you saying?"

She caught his face, kissing him silent, feeling his arms go around her and his lips begin to caress hers back. 'YES!' She cried, tears pouring down her face. 'Stay with me...please, Inuyasha...I'm begging you, don't leave me...' She gently guided him towards her bed, till he fell down, taking her with him.

'She's kissing me...' He realized, his heart thundering in his chest. A pleased growl escaped him and he tangled one of his hands in her hair, taking her other in his and rolling so he was above her. He lifted his face for a moment, staring down at her tear-stained one. "Kagome..." He whispered, before moving to take her lips once again.

He moaned softly when her tongue entered his mouth. He trapped her hands with his own, allowing his own tongue to battle with hers, caressing it, fighting its way into her own mouth, where he plundered it thoroughly. He felt her arching against him and his control began to fail. With an anguished groan, he pushed himself off of her. "Dammit..." He whispered. "I told you I'd give you time...and I'm fucking taking advantage of you...dammit...dammit to hell." He sat up, turning away from her.

Kagome felt her heart almost break. "Inuyasha..." She whispered, taking a deep breath and wrapping her arms around his chest. "You weren't taking advantage of me..." She felt him trying to break away from her and she wanted to cry. "I don't want you to leave tonight."

He turned towards her, his face showing his nervousness, his fears. "Kagome, if I stay here with you tonight, I'm going to want to have sex with you." He warned.

She nodded in agreement.

His eyes widened a bit. "Kagome...?"

"I made my decision, Inuyasha." She said, reaching up, caressing his beautiful face.

He stared at her in shock. 'Is she saying...what I think-' His mind screeched to a halt when her lips pressed lightly against his and he heard her whisper softly into his ear.

"I want to be your mate."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC(?)

oooooooooooo oooooooooo