InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Corporate Deception: Fate of Her Land ❯ Bond of the Chosen ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Corporate Deception: Fate of Her Land
Chapter 10: Bond of the Chosen
By: Trusuprise

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all affiliated characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko. The views expressed herein are solely those of TruSuprise.
Additional Disclaimer: This story is rated R and is intended for mature audiences. This chapter contains lemon content. If you disapprove of such materials, please stop reading.





“Quick, Shippou!” Rin’s sweet, yet loud voice bounced through the entryway, rattled the china in the dining room and finally ended its adventure by shaking the drums inside the little kitsune’s ears.

“I don’t care if it’s three in the morning, I don’t wanna go to bed!” The Kitsune-Youkai wailed, expecting to catch a lecture about staying up so late past his bedtime.

As Rin stormed into the den, a stern expression on her face, she snatched the remote from the young kit’s hand and changed the channel on the television.

“Hey!” Shippou cried, standing up to fight for the remote. Rin held him in place with a tactfully placed palm against his forehead as she urgently flipped channels.

“Look.” She insisted, pointing to the screen that now showed a newscast on a twenty four hour news channel where a reporter stood in front of what seemed to be not only wreckage of some kind of historical buildings, but youkai bodies. Dead youkai bodies. Policemen canvassed the scene and red and blue lights flashed wildly in the dark.

Shippou stopped struggling, his attention now focused on the newscast. “Those are all lower youkai. They must be from the Southern Lands, Naraku’s clan, right? I think Sesshomaru-ojichan said once that lower youkai were led by him.”

Rin, one of the few humans who knew of the inner workings of youkai society, thanks to her adopted youkai father nodded gravely. “Not just that, Shippou, look at where that guy’s reporting from.”

Shippou examined the title bar on the bottom of the screen and tilted his head, trying to recognize the kanji. “Central Tokyo, Higurashi Shrine. So what?” He asked testily.

His adopted cousin sighed, wanting him to figure it out on his own. “And who do we know that lives in a shrine in Tokyo and shares that same last name?”

As if a light came on over the boy’s head, Shippou’s expression lit up at first, but then slowly dissipated into a frown. “Higurashi Kagome.” He said quietly.

Just then, the reporter turned, aiming his microphone to a man standing near him and the camera panned to focus on the newcomer. The children both audibly gasped as they instantly recognized the image of a man born into a line of great evil, known from age-old stories of their household.

“Naraku Onigumo, famous real estate tycoon, co-owns this property along with its original owner. He was here when it happened just after midnight. Naraku-kun?” The reporter asked, signaling for the black haired man with a grave expression to speak.

“Yes, it was terrible.” Naraku replied, a pained frown on his face as he recounted the tale. “I was in the shrine office, working on a document, when I heard this absolutely terrible explosion outside. I ran to the door and saw what looked like… oh, it seemed to be some kind of half dog youkai, half human male just madly attacking the house of the co-owner of the property. If you can see, he tore an enormous hole in her home.”

The camera panned in on the house, magnifying the image of the destruction as Naraku paused dramatically.

“I heard screaming from inside the house, but before I could get there to help, this Inu-Hanyou absconded with the woman and her brother, and before I could follow him, he sent a wave of these hideous youkai to attack me.” Naraku said, motioning to the dead bodies on the ground. “It was all I could do to save my life.”

“Do you have a description of this Inu-Hanyou that rendered all this destruction?” The reporter asked seriously.

Naraku paused, his brows knitted together while he thought. “Well, he was shorter than me, maybe standing just under six feet tall. He had long silver hair, and I think I saw… golden eyes. I didn’t get to look at him too closely, but I’ll be giving my statement to the police.”

The camera panned back to the reporter. “Thank you, Naraku-kun. Again, the description of the culprit is-”

Rin forced herself to turn the TV off, enraged.

Shippou broke the silence, words falling out of his mouth in a steady stream. “How could he blame this on otousan? What really happened? Is Kagome okay? Where are they now? Why-“

Rin cut him off by bopping the young kitsune on the head, much the way his adopted father would have done, and it forced Shippou to look into her calm eyes. Once he had settled down, Rin spoke. “We can’t panic right now, we have to be calm and collected about this so we can be here for them when they get here.”

“They’re okay then?” Shippou asked worriedly.

Rin mustered a half-hearted smile. “They’re all safe. I called dad as soon as I saw the report on the news. He told me that Naraku orchestrated the attack and that he wouldn’t get home until later this morning. Inuyasha-ojichan, Miroku-kun, Sango-san and Kagome-chan had to kill all those lower youkai to escape a plot set up by Naraku. They and Kagome-san’s younger brother should be getting here soon, they all escaped safely and are going to hide here.”

“Oh.” Shippou said slowly, at a loss for what to do or what to say.

The young kit had no time to contemplate his course of actions as Jaken furiously ran through the hallway, the sound of his webbed feet slapping the hardwoods as he passed by the den. “Why didn’t they tell me they were arriving?” He fussed as he zoomed by.

Understanding that their family had returned, the two children exchanged glances before leaping off the couch and running for the front door, mowing over Jaken on the way out, flattening him to the marble floor of the entryway. “Damn kids!” The toad youkai cried as he threw his back out while trying to get back up.

As the black SUV pulled under the portico, Shippou and Rin nervously waited on the steps. Once the car had been turned off, the engine pinged and panged as it cooled, the only noises in the warm, still night. Finally, Miroku opened the driver’s door, giving the Taisho children a small but troubled smile before hopping out and opening the door behind him, displaying an obviously irritated Inu-Hanyou as he tried to wake Kagome, who was asleep on his shoulder in the rear of the vehicle.

Sensing that his sister and Inuyasha weren’t going anywhere too soon, and wanting to get out to stretch his legs, Souta wordlessly slid out of his seat. As he hopped out of the vehicle, he hadn’t anticipated the foot tall drop and knocked Rin off her balance in his clumsy exit.

“I’m so sorry!” Souta exclaimed as he scrambled to reach out for the girl, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her back flat on her feet.

As the he eyed her for a moment, making sure she was all right, Rin looked into the brown haired boy’s face, a small blush lighting up her cheeks as she looked into his dark, troubled eyes. She could see pain there, and she absently wondered what he had been through to make him so upset. “S… sorry.” She stammered.

Miroku opened Sango’s door, shaking the sleepy taiji-ya gently by the shoulders. “Wake up, Sango-dear.” He said quietly.

Sango moaned quietly, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Miroku.” She said breathlessly.

Miroku’s heart soared as he forgot about the many aches and pains that plagued his body. Was she dreaming about him? Why else would she say his name in that longing, wistful tone? He could barely contain himself as stepped up on the floorboard of the vehicle and threw his arms around the woman.

Coming to, Sango blinked, now fully awake. Feeling the pressure of another body close to hers, she lashed out, pushing him away instinctively as she yelled.

Kagome snapped awake at the sudden commotion in the car, her body flinching as she forgot where she was. The memories of the battle, the death, and the stench slammed back into her and she almost let out a scream of her own. Inuyasha’s silent closeness and tightening grip around her shoulders calmed her in time, his aura somehow managing to sooth her own as she caught her breath.

“But Sango-sama!” Miroku’s voice cried as his arms pinwheeled, loosing his balance as he fell backwards out the open door and landed roughly on the ground on his rear with a thud.

As the warrior woman glared down at him, a truly innocent expression graced the monk’s face. “How can you hold me accountable for my actions when you say my name like that in your sleep?” Miroku asked.

“What the hell are you talking about, Houshi?” Sango snapped, glaring down at Miroku. “You must be the one dreaming to think I said your name in my sleep, and to insinuate that I was using any kind of tone...”

“Actually, Sango…” Everyone turned to the rough voice of the Inu-Hanyou, who was about to call her out on something she hadn’t even known she had done.

Sango glared at Inuyasha harshly, silencing even the thick headed Inu-Hanyou in an instant before allowing her body to slide down to the ground, bouncing on her sore legs from the drop. She grabbed at her thighs, rubbing at the intense soreness. She hadn’t had a workout where she’d had to use her skills like that in a long while. The intensity of actually fighting for the lives of her friends and herself had taken its toll on her body and her mind.

Miroku hopped up. Instantly forgetting that Sango had just brushed him off, he was ready to try again. “You look like you’re in pain, Sango-sama, allow me to carry you to the guest quarters.”

As the houshi bent to put his arms around her, he got a firm slap on the cheek before Sango stormed into the house with an obvious limp, which served only to undermine her efforts.

Miroku turned to the car to address Inuyasha. “I think she needs to get some sleep. We’ll see you in the morning.” He said plainly. He hurriedly trailed behind her, passing the bewildered Shippou, Rin, and Souta as he followed Sango into the house and towards the guest wing. The sound of their bickering wafted back the way they came.

Inuyasha watched his friends leave sadly, his twitching ears still picking up their argument. Sango and Miroku knew as well as he did that as much as they may have wanted to, it would not be wise to go home to their families. It was certain that Naraku had spies out, and would use any leverage he could against them for revenge. It was by unspoken agreement that for the safety of both their pack and their blood families, that they stay together through any crisis, and a crisis was definitely what they were in at the moment.

The Inu-Hanyou turned to the woman held firmly in his grasp and smiled down at her. He supposed they ought to get out of the car, seeing as how they were the last ones still there and the three children were waiting for them. Yet, Inuyasha would have never moved from that spot, could he have frozen time. He could have stared at Kagome for the rest of eternity, realizing how lucky he was to have her back and just how very much he loved her. Though using the words was difficult for him, Inuyasha couldn’t wait to tell her them again.

Wondering why he was staring at her, Kagome finally shyly smiled at Inuyasha and tried to worm her way out of his grasp to exit the car, stopping when all of her muscles screamed at her.

“Sore?” The Inu-Hanyou asked her.

When she nodded at him, he motioned for her to stay put while he opened his own door and hopped out. It was difficult to ignore his own bodily pain, but he walked around the SUV to the other side, extending his arms to Kagome from the ground, silently communicating to her that he’d carry her.

“Really, Inuyasha, I can walk by myself.” Kagome said defiantly as she let her body begin to drop.

Inuyasha shrugged. “Keh. Be that way.” He said.

As Kagome’s feet hit the ground, shivers traveled up her legs from the pain caused by the frantic running and the tension from the night and she tipped over and lost her balance. Souta jerked, about to lunge to try and catch his sister, but the Inu-Hanyou was already there, his clawed fingers gently grabbing her by the arms as he pulled her to his body. In one, swift motion, Inuyasha swung Kagome’s legs under one arm and supported her back with his other.

Kagome squirmed in the embarrassing bridal style hold. “Really, this is ridiculous.” She complained, a bright blush on her face.

“It is ridiculous.” Inuyasha agreed with her. “You can barely walk and you’re freaking fighting with me to allow you to be in even more pain by trying to be tougher than you think you are. Now who’s the mature one?” He asked testily.

For all his harsh words, Kagome knew that Inuyasha was simply worried for her, and for that, she couldn’t be happier. She knew he was trying to be gentle, trying to show her that he cared, trying to right the wrongs he had created when he had rejected her. And Kagome was all too happy to let him prove to her that he loved her. Besides, despite the macho façade they both displayed in the presence of others, just being back in Inuyasha’s arms was enough to make her blissfully happy despite the tumultuous night of fighting, death and destruction.

“Inuyasha-otousan…” Shippou finally said, tired of being ignored.

Inuyasha looked at him warily, surprised to see that the kit was for once behaving himself and not jumping all over him, and hell, even addressing him by his proper title. He chalked it up to Kagome being in his presence and eyed Shippou even more warily.

“We saw it on the news! Naraku said you did it! It was terrible, all those dead bodies, their bloods’ all over you…” Shippou gushed.

Inuyasha almost dropped the precious cargo in his arms. “Wait, wait, slow down. Are you telling me that there were newscasters were at the shrine and Naraku is framing me for the attack?”

“There’s a news crew at my shrine?” Kagome asked distractedly, worried for the land she had abandoned.

Inuyasha soothed her. “Don’t worry, Kagome. We’ll get your property back.”

Rin cleared her throat and became the steady voice of reason as she filled in Inuyasha and Kagome. “It was on the news. Naraku didn’t say your name, Inuyasha-ojichan, but he gave a description of you. He claimed that you attacked the house, absconded with Kagome and her brother, and ordered a hoard of youkai to attack him. He even gave a description of you to the police and the news station.”

“He framed you again.” Kagome said quietly, her fist clenching Inuyasha’s blood stained robe, careful not to brush against his still healing shoulder.

Inuyasha sighed, digesting the information. Now he’d have to deal with having the police on the lookout for someone who fit his profile as a suspected criminal. At the very least, he could be thankful that the Youkai Council themselves would not be getting involved with the investigation, as it was against procedure to divulge any information during a power struggle. He reasoned that was why Naraku had not named him, wanting the human police to think that he and the attacker had no knowledge of each other. The police probably wouldn’t even know that Naraku was hanyou. Since Naraku had become hanyou and was not born that way, he had no physical youkai features, and the humans would not know that he was of youkai blood. Inuyasha, however, was obviously Inu-Hanyou, and being that his kind was so rare, now that the police had his description, they could easily spot him. The situation only went from bad to worse.

Inuyasha forced himself to focus and he nodded at the children. “Its late, and I have no answers. We’ll have to wait until your worthless father gets back, Rin. I don’t know what he’s up to, but we’ll have to wait for his return. Until then, can you and Shippou take Souta to the guest wing and show him a room and where things are?”

Rin nodded, a blush returning to her cheeks as she motioned for Souta to follow her.

Shippou held back for a moment, glancing to his adopted father. “Shouldn’t Kagome-san go to the guest wing too? Where are you taking her?” He asked.

“With me.” Inuyasha responded simply as he entered the house and carried Kagome to his wing of the Western Mansion.

* * *

Kagura slowly came to, blinking the spotted darkness from her eyes. She didn’t know where she was, except that it was soft and warm, and she felt like she could have stayed there for the rest of eternity. The memory of knowing her end was near, and Naraku beginning to unleash his rage on her came rushing back to her mind. She asked herself is she was dead, but realized her senses were too sharp for that sweet release to be a reality. She could hear someone quietly fussing about her body. She felt a wet rag being placed on her forehead and the thick comforter across her chest. She could smell Inuyasha on the material surrounding her.

‘Inuyasha?’ Kagura asked herself, her eyes fighting to open. She tried to sit up, but the sudden rush to her head almost caused her to loose consciousness once more. She felt a hand grip her shoulder, holding her down to the soft bed. Kagura found she could only see out of one eye, but her spotted vision revealed a wide shouldered figure she instantly realized to be the man she loved. She detachedly noticed that Sesshomaru wore his combat garb, a beautiful white kimono with a flowered design on the shoulder and sleeves. His metal armor glinted in the dim light where it rested on the bedside table.

“Don’t move, you’re still healing.” The voice of Sesshomaru calmed her, his aura reaching out to her own, begging her to allow him to soothe her.

This time, Kagura allowed him to, neither willing nor able to put up a fight. As she lowered the walls of her aura, the sudden rush of Sesshomaru’s consciousness next to her own was akin to a warm blanket on a cold night. She could feel him lending her his strength, his very life-force, as her body redoubled its efforts to heal.

“You’re in Inuyasha’s apartment.” Sesshomaru began to explain. “Inuyasha told me of Naraku’s plans, that you and he had planned on stopping them alone.”

“That bastard.” Kagura spat, cursing the Inu-Hanyou for going back on his promise between clenched teeth. Pain shot through her jaw and she wondered why she was having difficulty moving her mouth.

Sesshomaru simply ignored her and continued. “It took Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and even Kagome herself to beat back Naraku’s waiting onslaught of lower youkai. Once they made their get away, I hung back to make sure you were all right. This Sesshomaru knew that Naraku would not be pleased with his plan’s failure.”

The stoic Inu-Youkai took the damp towel from Kagura’s forehead, dipped it in a bowl of cool water and wringed it out before gently replacing it. Sesshomaru examined the wind youkai’s slowly regenerating face. He didn’t want to tell her, but Naraku had almost taken Kagura’s entire lower jaw from her head with his punch, tearing through the left side of her jawbone and continuing its destruction halfway through the other side of her face. Her left eye had been badly damaged and the entire left side of her face was a beaten, bloody mess. The wind youkai had lost a lot of blood and would not have survived even the solitary punch had she not been youkai, and he knew Naraku had used but a fraction of his strength.

“I apologize for not being there to stop Naraku’s first blow. There was no way for me to get close enough without Naraku detecting me, but once he landed his punch, I collected you, and ran away.” Sesshomaru explained.

“You? Running away?” Kagura asked mockingly, her jaw popping loudly as she winced at the pain.

Sesshomaru frowned. “I said don’t move. That is to include speaking, Kagura. I ran because I had to tend to you before I took my revenge on him. Your life is more important to me than that, and you know it.” In the silence that followed, Sesshomaru brushed her damp bangs away from her face before continuing. “Kagura, Naraku wanted you dead, but he didn’t succeed. You no longer have to return to his slavery.”

Kagura dropped her strong façade at the revelation, and as Sesshomaru looked into her one open, desperate eye, he knew the wind youkai was worrying about her sister. “We’ll get Kanna next, I promise, Kagura. We’ll save her together.” The Western Lord said stoically.

A single tear slid down Kagura’s face, and Sesshomaru dropped his head to hers, kissing her cheek above her mutilated jaw to stop its salty flow. “I’m taking you home now, Kagura. To my home. Where you belong.”

The emotions became too much for her tired soul to handle and Kagura succumbed to the blackness once again. She drifted into a land of dreamless sleep as Sesshomaru gently lifted her body from the bed.

* * *

Inuyasha silently carried Kagome through the Western Mansion, having long since fallen into a somewhat uncomfortable silence. Feeling the need to lighten to mood, and no longer wanting to dwell on the nightmare that had passed, Kagome decided to ask a completely irrelevant question.

“You mean this entire wing of the house is yours?” She asked.

Inuyasha looked at the woman in his arms crossly. “This is hardly the time to be amazed, wench.”

Kagome matched his expression, staring into his eyes that were so close to her own. “Well excuse me for trying to make small talk.”

Inuyasha couldn’t help but smile. It was just in Kagome’s nature to be cheerful and try to make light of any situation. It was just one of the many things he loved about the woman. He swallowed audibly at the word he rarely used. Although he’d said those three little words to Kagome before, he was desperate then, and on the brink of losing her forever. Though, if anything, now that he had her back he loved her even more than he did before, it would still be difficult for him to say those words freely. He had rarely even used those words with Kikyou. Back then, he hadn’t even known the true meaning of the words.

Inuyasha understood the importance of reaffirming to Kagome that he loved her soon, but for the moment, he settled on the safety of facts instead of feelings. His previous train of thought regarding Kikyou had already led him down another road, and he followed it. “I didn’t know you could create the Hama no Ya.” Inuyasha said seriously.

“Purifying arrow?” Kagome asked, not quite understanding.

“Um, you know, every time you shot an arrow it glowed purple and killed a youkai.” Inuyasha said, scorning her.

“Is that what it was? Honestly, that was the first time that’d ever happened.” Kagome said, her eyes unfocused as the recalled the tingling experience of releasing her soul’s energy into the arrow.

“It’s a miko power.” The Inu-Hanyou supplied.

“Duh.” Kagome said tersely.

“Well then why had you never used the power before?” Inuyasha asked testily, remembering that Kikyou had learned to use the power shortly after they had met.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’d never had fear for my life and protect myself from attacking youkai.” Kagome replied sarcastically.

Inuyasha stewed on the thought, wondering if perhaps Kikyou had never truly trusted him in the first place. He unconsciously gripped Kagome a little tighter. “I didn’t know you could shoot an arrow so well.” He commented honestly.

“There’s a lot about me you don’t know.” Kagome replied smugly.

Inuyasha grinned. He liked where this was going. He could read the look in her eyes and the spike in her aura like a book. Kagome was teasing him. He tightened his hold around her body. “Well, I’m glad I have you back. I’m ready to start learning more about you, teacher.” He said smartly, drawing on her lead.

Kagome smiled, but paused, obviously straining to pull words from her mouth. “I guess now that we’re back together, we’re like, a thing now, boyfriend and girlfriend, huh?” She blushed madly, such a phrase sounded foolish coming from the mouth of a twenty four year old woman, but still, she had to know where she stood. She couldn’t bear the torment of not knowing the parameters of their relationship as they had done in the past.

Inuyasha joined her blush. ‘Boyfriend and girlfriend? I want you as my mate, woman!’ He said to himself, but settled with a different reply. “You can call me your boyfriend, or anything else you want. But now that you’ve taken me back, you can’t let me go, and I’m not letting you leave. We belong to each other.”

Kagome’s blush only deepened. Inuyasha was so serious, and the passion that burned in his amber eyes couldn’t be denied… but that didn’t undermine the fact that everything they’d just said in the span of the last two minutes was nothing short of cliché. She laughed their words off. “I dunno, if you’re gonna keep being this dorky, I’m leaving you.”

Inuyasha let her human view of both physically and mentally belonging to each other slide for the moment, even though he couldn’t have been more serious. “Hey!” He exclaimed. “I’ll have you know you human women always fall for dorks!”

“Do they, oh wise oracle Inuyasha?” Kagome asked sarcastically.

“Well, you called me a dork and you fell for me, didn’t you?” He asked confidently.

Kagome smiled at him. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” He snorted. The miko rolled her eyes at the Inu-Hanyou. “We’re here.” He said finally, stopping at a door after a ten minute trip through the large mansion.

“You guys need people movers in here, or at least scooters. That was a long walk!” Kagome exclaimed.

“Keh. Try walking that while carrying someone next time, little girl.” The hanyou retorted.

Though it warmed her heart to hear Inuyasha call her by the nickname he had given her, Kagome’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead in mock surprise. “Excuse me? Are you calling me fat?”

Inuyasha stammered, trying to backpedal. Kagome laughed after putting him on the spot. “Oh relax, I was just playing!” She said before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

The feel of her warm lips on his skin brought a smile to Inuyasha’s face as he precariously opened his door and turned the lights on. As their vision adjusted to the lighting, she surveyed his large stark, yet comfortable room. The décor was traditional with dark woods, earth tone paints and a large, plush rug covering most of the hardwood floors. A collection of dressers and a large king sized bed covered in white bedding was the only furniture that adorned the room.

Inuyasha noted Kagome’s eyes lingering on the bed. He could tell her mind was wandering. He took a moment to thank the Gods for choosing for him a woman with almost as large of a sex drive as his own. Well, not that they’d had sex yet, but they’d come damn close and she was always as horny as he was. Inuyasha thought about simply carrying Kagome to his bed and dropping her down and having his way with her, but figured that after such a gruesome, hectic night, she would want to simply clean up and relax. Quite frankly, though it wouldn’t be hard to convince Inuyasha otherwise, just the idea of sleeping next to his chosen would appease even him considering what they’d just been through. He carried her instead to the bathroom.

Kagome’s eyes widened at the expansive bathroom. Dual marble sinks, a separate commode, and a stand up shower. There was a western style jacuzzi and behind another door, she could see a large traditional Japanese bathtub.

“We should get cleaned up. Can you stand?” Inuyasha asked.

“I didn’t need you to carry me in the first place.” Kagome answered haughtily, chuckling as Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.” He replied as he gently set her down, her injured bare feet barely supporting her on the cold marble floor. “Do you want me to fill the bath?”

Kagome thought about it, and then shook her head. “No thanks, I’d fall asleep in it. A hot shower would be just as good right now.”

Inuyasha nodded his agreement and surveyed the boxers and t-shirt Kagome wore that had originally been meant for pajamas but were now ripped and bloodied battle garments. The tight fitting, thin undershirt she wore made it clear that Kagome had worn no bra. Had it not been for the stench of blood and death the covered their clothes, Inuyasha would have been compelled to go back on his decision to only sleep that night. “I’m going to find you some clothes to change into. Why don’t you hop into the shower, and I’ll dress your wounds when you’re done?” He finally suggested.

Kagome nodded shyly, the two still simply staring at each other. As a few minutes passed by, Inuyasha finally stepped back. “Guess I’ll get going…”

Kagome chuckled nervously, but waited for the Inu-Hanyou to turn and walk back to his room before beginning to peel her grime and blood stained clothes off her body. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her naked plenty of times before, but now that they were starting anew, and especially after the events that had just passed, she was feeling rather shy and awkward. Kagome suspected that would likely change shortly, but for the moment, should the opportunity arise, she didn’t trust herself to keep her hands off of Inuyasha. Literally.

Finally stepping into the shower, Kagome let the hot water from the double headed shower wash away the dried blood both from her own injured body and that of the lower youkai she had slaughtered, her muscles beginning to loosen up in response. Finally seeing Inuyasha’s blurry form return through the frosted glass of the large shower, she finished up, rinsing the last bit of suds from her body and conditioner from her hair. Examining the high quality hair products in the shower, Kagome noted that having a boyfriend with hair longer than her own could be an advantage.

As Kagome cracked open the door to the shower, Inuyasha was there waiting for her, a large, plush towel in his hand. She noted that it looked like it had never been used and she smiled as she took it from him. Pushing the envelope, she decided to tempt not only Inuyasha but also herself. Kagome felt it was important to let him know that she was still comfortable in his presence. She couldn’t help but notice Inuyasha watching her appreciatively as she stepped out of the shower and dried her wet body with the towel in front of him.

“Will this t-shirt do?” Inuyasha asked, finally tearing his eyes away from Kagome’s curvaceous body to look at her eyes. He held out a cream colored shirt that was obviously one of his own. “I don’t have anything near your size, even my shorts would be too big for you.”

Kagome had to admit that she was glad that Inuyasha didn’t have any clothes lying around that could fit her, and she smiled as she took his shirt from his hand, lifting it over her head as she slipped her arms through it.

Inuyasha watched happily as her breasts rose with her arms, the taught skin of her stomach stretched over her rib cage. Once the shirt was on, he found its size perfect for a nightshirt, reaching the middle of her thighs. He smiled at how damn cute she looked, save for the minor injuries that peppered her body. He led her to the vanity and sat her on a chair before pulling out a bottle of peroxide, bandages, and a couple of strange, unlabeled jars.

“Really, Inuyasha, I can do this myself.” Kagome insisted, swatting at his hand as he brought a peroxide drenched cotton ball to her face.

“I’m sure you can.” He began, ignoring her as he dabbed the small cuts on her cheek. It was a mate’s duty to care for his chosen’s injuries, and though they weren’t mated yet, Inuyasha was compelled to play that role regardless.

Kagome winced as the peroxide stung, but she allowed Inuyasha to continue as he tended to the rest of the small, shallow cuts across her face and arms. He was pleased that they were only simple skin wounds that would heal in days. He also examined her foot, and gently pulled a small glass sliver from the tender sole that she had missed. It was the only wound requiring a bandage, which he gently wrapped after applying some medicine from a strange jar that he had explained was youkai strength medicine and would help her wounds heal faster.

Once Inuyasha finished, he looked up to her from where he knelt on the floor, still clad in his red hakama and bloody ivory robe. Kagome noted that his bare shoulder where the vicious youkai had ripped through both his robe and his flesh had completely healed, and there was no trace of the terrible wound he had received. He had put himself in so much danger, all to save her.

“Thank you Inuyasha.” Kagome whispered.

“Keh, Its no problem. I used to have to take care of my own wounds all the time.” He replied.

Kagome shook her head, the events and emotions of the past few days overwhelming her as tears suddenly began to roll down her face. “No, I mean… for everything. For saving my brother and I, for waiting for my answer, for… for caring about me.”

“Shhhh.” He whispered, trying to tell her that it was all right. He rose on his knees between Kagome’s thighs and drew one hand through her hair, palming the back of her head as he pulled her towards him for a chaste kiss. Slowly breaking their kiss, Inuyasha steeled himself.

Looking into Kagome’s big brown eyes, he forced the words that sat on the tip of his tongue from his mouth. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done because I love you.” He whispered.

Kagome continued to cry, though now for a slightly different reason. Inuyasha smiled at her as he detected her happiness through her aura.

Inuyasha slowly let her go and stood. He then shed his robe so as not to dirty her clean body with the remains of the slaughtered youkai and again picked up the still crying and emotionally drained woman to carry her to his bed.

Glad that he had already pulled back the covers, Inuyasha lay Kagome down on the soft mattress. “You’re exhausted, and you need rest.” He said, pulling the thick, white blankets to her shoulders. “I’m going to take a shower. By the time I get back, you’ll be fast asleep.” He ran his fingers through her bangs before turning to head back for the bathroom.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked.

The inu-Hanyou turned to face his chosen, a questioning expression on his face.

“I… I love you too.” She finished.

He smiled at her sweetly. “Sleep.” He said. And before he could even turn back around, Kagome was no longer awake.

* * *

Kagura was still unconscious two hours later. It was four in the morning and Sesshomaru had just pulled into the driveway of his home, thankful that Inuyasha had left the keys to his new car on his bedside table back in his apartment. The drive from Tokyo to Kyoto at such an early hour was a breeze, and had he not been constantly worried for the recovering wind youkai who lay in the reclined racing seat next to him, he would have enjoyed the drive in the sporty coupe.

Sesshomaru did at the very least have the capacity to note that Inuyasha had finally learned to drive stick. He figured it had been Kagome’s doing. Leave it to a woman to finally teach his stubborn half brother to learn how to operate a manual transmission. It was the only thing that had brought a smile to his face that day.

Pulling under the portico, Sesshomaru spotted the SUV that his brother and friends had made their escape in parked, the doors wide open. He realized that Jaken must have been busy trying to tend to all their guests and hadn’t had the chance to put the car away yet. As he pulled the emergency brake and turned the car off, The Western Lord looked over to the unconscious wind youkai. Her face was almost back in one piece. Now only a small, bloody hole could be seen on the right side of her face where the tissue and skin were still slowly regenerating. He knew the insides of the wound was still repairing itself, the bones themselves burning and itching as they fused themselves back together.

Walking around the car, he opened the passenger side door and gently lifted Kagura out after taking a moment to determine the best way to lift her from the supportive seats without jarring her too badly. Sesshomaru pulled her lithe frame to his body, making sure the long red t-shirt adequately covered her. Not wanting to leave Kagura in her dusty, blood covered battle garb, he had taken the shirt from Inuyasha’s closet to dress her in.

As The Western Lord climbed the few steps to the entryway, he delicately balanced the woman in his arms as he opened the large front door, not even bothering to close it after he entered. He found Jaken on his knees in the entryway, cleaning footprints of what smelled like dried youkai blood from the stone floor.

As he scrubbed and scrubbed, the diminutive toad youkai complained to himself aloud. “Really, I’ve told Inuyasha to wipe his feet before entering! He never listens to a word I say, that good for nothing…”

Sensing the presence of his Lord and master behind him, Jaken spun, quickly rising to his feet as he bowed. And threw out his back again. He bit his lip at the pain, forcing himself to remain in his bowed position. “Sesshomaru-sama, please forgive me for not being ready for your arrival, I-“

“Jaken.” Sesshomaru cut him off promptly. “I trust everyone got back safely and is staying in the Western Mansion?”

“Yes, Sesshomaru-sama. Inuyasha returned safely with Kagome and her brother, and Sango-sama, Miroku-sama, and the young man were shown to the guest wing for the night.” He replied, his body shaking and eyes watering from the pain in his back.

Finally looking up from his bow, Jaken noticed Kagura, the woman his Lord had been courting for years in his grasp. He could tell she was injured and longed to ask Sesshomaru what had happened, but wisely held his tongue for a change.

Sesshomaru noticed the toad’s inquisitive expression. “She is unconscious, that is all. In the back of the car are her battle garments, covered with blood. My armor is in there as well. See to it that they get cleaned tomorrow. I have a feeling we’ll be needing them again.”

The retainer nodded, readying to get to work on his new assignment. He paused, hearing a brief, yet audible buzzing sound, Jaken’s eyes snapped to the open front door.

“It is Naraku’s saimyoushou. They’ve followed me here from Tokyo.” Sesshomaru said casually.

Jaken yelped and ran to the door, jumping up to reach the iron handle and slamming the door shut, breathing loudly. “What are we going to do, Sesshomaru-sama?” He wailed, about to go into a rambling fit.

Sesshomaru preempted Jaken’s rant by hefting Kagura’s body more securely in his hold before thrusting his foot towards the toad with lightening fast speed, squishing his diminutive, green body to the ground. Jaken’s back popped audibly, the cracking of the bones amplified in the large entryway. The toad youkai sighed from the release. It had been exactly what he had needed.

The Western Lord put his foot back down on the ground. “The saimyoushou will not come inside. You know as well as I that one of the ancient youkai laws is to not attack a youkai’s family in his home. We should be safe here, at least for now, until Naraku decides to throw even that law to the wind.”

As Jaken stood with his mouth hanging open, at a loss for words, Sesshomaru felt his own legs begin to go weak from exhaustion. “We’ll figure out what to do next tomorrow. For now, let the others rest. Once you are done here, you need to turn in too. Every one of us deserves their sleep right now.”

That said, Sesshomaru wordlessly turned and carried Kagura away, her body slung across his torso, the image much the same as his younger brother’s had been earlier that morning. The walk up the stairs had been difficult on his sore, tired legs, yet he trudged forward, heading through his wing of the mansion, passing statues and paintings of his forefathers as he gazed at the woman in his arms.

The Inu-Youkai kicked his bedroom door open with his foot and swung it shut in the same manner as he gracefully approached his bed. Canine night vision left much to be desired, but he knew his way around his room, tediously balancing Kagura in one arm as he threw aside his blankets before placing her on his mattress. Her body was doing well now, her skin no longer hot to the touch as her body fought to regenerate the injuries. He knew she no longer needed his assistance to heal and he retracted the energy he had been pouring through his aura to her own. It was all he could do to remain standing as he severed their link.

Sesshomaru pulled the blankets over Kagura’s t-shirt clad body, fighting the urge to climb into the other side of the bed and sleep next to her, even if he knew it was what she would have wanted, never mind what he needed. Instead, he pushed himself away from the bed and shed his dirty battle kimono, putting on a pair of sweat pants from a massive dresser. He settled with pulling a plush chair next to his bed and slid into it, reaching out to hold Kagura’s hand in his own before exhaustion claimed his weary mind and he fell into an uncomfortable, dreamless sleep.

* * *

A flock of birds took to the cloud filled sky of the pre-dawn morning, their flapping wings careening their bodies away from the trees as a backhoe knocked down two ancient maples, causing them to crash into the others around them. As the sun began to break through the clouds around the buildings surrounding the Higurashi Shrine, the shrill beeping sounds of machinery operating in reverse echoed off the vertical walls of concrete outside the shrine grounds.

Naraku Onigumo stood in front of the Goshinboku, a hard hat secured on his head as he assigned tasks to a demolition crew that examined an unrolled plan of the shrine property. A front shovel and an earth mover were directed to destroy and carry away the main shrine building, where the current enclosed altar was kept and services and ceremonies were held. The backhoe was tasted to remove a stand of trees that would be in the way of the additional heavy machinery yet to be delivered. An excavator truck was set to work on digging up the area around an old well, a location mentioned in the ancient legend.

As the construction workers nodded their understanding of the plan, they manned their machinery, systematically beginning to tear up the earth, tear down the trees, and tear apart the selected buildings.

Apart from the destruction outside, from the inside of what remained of the Higurashi house, Kikyou tended to Kanna. Though she knew that the young void youkai was no longer unconscious, she did not urge the quiet girl to speak or even acknowledge her presence. It was obvious that Kanna had pulled her soul deep within her body, wallowing in pity for the actions she had committed. Kikyou knew little of the young woman, other than that she was generally shy and reserved, but she could sense that the girl was deeply troubled, and was so devastated that she no longer wished to live.

She frowned sadly at the beautiful girl. It wasn’t the first time Naraku had driven either a youkai or a human to such measures. The hanyou could easily cause the death of another being without even ever laying a finger on them. Kikyou would not deny the harshness of the Southern Lord.

But he hadn’t always been like that, she mused. Kikyou had met the man who had then been named Sato Onigumo more than ten years ago. They had gone to high school together, and though Onigumo and Kikyou each knew they were interested in one another, neither one would admit to their feelings and had always dated other people. Onigumo had asked Kikyou once, after parting ways for separate colleges and when she had started dating Inuyasha, if she’d rather date him instead of the Inu-Hanyou. But when Kikyou had laughed him off, thinking he was joking, Onigumo began to act aloof.

Through the years that she had known him, Onigumo had been like a big brother, always watching out for her, even getting into fights for her. In fact, it was his honor for her that caused him to get into the accident, which had threatened to take his life. One night the two had been out together, a night that Inuyasha had suggested that Kikyou spend with their mutual friend for fear that he was becoming depressed and lonely as she and Inuyasha grew closer. That night, Onigumo and Kikyou had been sitting outside an ice cream shop when a group of four young men had walked by and accidentally knocked Kikyou over.

She knew the bump had been an accident, and tried to tell Onigumo to let it go, but he confronted the men anyway, pointing them out and making a scene, slinging insults and threatening them. Finally, he had gone too far, and one of the men punched him in the gut, tipping Onigumo’s rage over the edge as he tried to take all four of them on at the same time.

Realizing that the single man was out of his league, the group tried to get him to back down, but when Onigumo kept landing blows, they finally gave up and left for their car. Onigumo taunted them as they left and he raced for his own car, intent on following them. Kikyou, already exhausted from trying to stop Onigumo’s rage and deter the on-looking crowd, ran into the street, begging for him to come back, but he was already gone, racing after the other car.

It was an hour later when she gotten a call from the hospital, telling her that Onigumo was in critical condition. He had wrapped his car around a tree at over a hundred miles an hour.

For days, Kikyou wallowed in self pity while Onigumo lay in a coma, blaming herself for the accident because he was protecting her and had protected her for years. That she might be the reason for her first love’s death tore at her very soul.

The quiet companionship that Inuyasha offered Kikyou was not of much help. The Inu-Hanyou was edgy, as though there was something he wanted to ask her. She had never known that Inuyasha had been contemplating asking for her hand in marriage. Consequently, Kikyou had brushed the Inu-Hanyou off. Slowly, Kikyou began to bear the burden of the responsibility, blaming herself for Onigumo being near death as he slept in his coma.

Kikyou deduced that because Onigumo began to act aloof after she had turned him down when he had informally asked her to leave Inuyasha to be with him instead, it was her turning him away that caused Onigumo to lose his grip on reality. Now, she figured, she owed it to him to stay by his side. Though Kikyou was dating Inuyasha and felt that she might love the Inu-Hanyou, she had also loved Onigumo since high school, and in her time spent by his bed side, she made the tough decision to stay by Onigumo and be there for him as he had been there for her, whatever the outcome would be.

A few days after the accident, Inuyasha had managed to coax Kikyou to agree to leave the hospital, asking her to meet him at his apartment the next morning. But then, after learning from the doctors that Onigumo might not live another day, she rushed to Inuyasha’s apartment that night, and was shocked at what she found.

Kikyou immediately ran back to the hospital, crushed and heartbroken. It was bad enough that her best friend was dying, but she had caught her boyfriend in the arms and body of another woman.

As Kikyou ran through the hospital, preparing to say her final goodbyes to her first love, her jaw dropped as she entered Onigumo’s room. He had made a miraculous recovery, and as she threw herself into Onigumo’s arms, she had decided that she was being given a second chance to be with her first love and that Inuyasha’s betrayal would allow her to finally love Onigumo the way she had wanted to all those years ago.

In retrospect, Kikyou had thought it strange. Though her miko senses had been so dulled due to worry and exhaustion, she had sensed a twinge of unease in Onigumo the day he had recovered, but never placed the sensation until it was too late. She would have never thought that as he lay dying the night before he came out of his coma, he had used his last breaths to agree to a contract with youkai, giving them his body in exchange for his life. Thus, Onigumo had become hanyou. Onigumo told her of the agreement a day later, and on some level, Kikyou wasn’t surprised to hear the news, and was even okay with it, as it was the youkai who had saved Onigumo’s life.

Slowly, the once good and kind Onigumo became the evil and twisted Naraku, and once he had risen to the ranks of real estate tycoon, a position handed to him of his new youkai heritage, Kikyou could do nothing to help him, or help herself. Onigumo had signed his life away, and was helpless to the youkai that were slowly corrupting and eating him away as he paid the youkai for his second chance to be with Kikyou with his very body and mind. Likewise, Kikyou had allowed herself to become corrupted along with him. Her heartbreak from Inuyasha’s betrayal and her worry for the slow corruption of Onigumo’s heart by Naraku’s body had driven her from her religion, causing her to leave both her faith and her family.

Kikyou knew that on some level, there was a remnant of Onigumo that was still alive somewhere in Naraku’s evil body. She had felt it on more than one occasion. The last time had been more than a year ago when they had uncharacteristically stopped for ice cream at the same shop where the fated fight had broken out three years ago. She had seen a glimpse of the one known as Onigumo in a silent stare he cast towards her, and Kikyou had sensed his desperation, his empty longing, his loathing of himself for the decision he made that day, and for what he’d become.

Kikyou reluctantly realized that the Onigumo that was still alive in Naraku wanted nothing short of death, and she knew that he was being tormented inside the hanyou body he had accepted. She would have killed Naraku if it would have eased Onigumo’s pain, but at that point, there was nothing Kikyou could have done to save him. Naraku’s strength was too great for even her Hama no Ya to have any effect on its own. She couldn’t have left Naraku, she had become too useful to him, and his desire for her body was too great for him to be without her. The only option left to Kikyou at that point was to follow in Naraku’s footsteps, knowing that the love that Onigumo once felt for her still existed deep in the heart that belonged to Naraku’s body.

As Kikyou placed a cool rag on Kanna’s forehead, she idly wondered how much longer she and Onigumo, not to mention all the others in Naraku’s path would be tormented by the evil hanyou’s wicked ways.

* * *

Come mid-day, the rain fell in sheets, and as Inuyasha batted an eye open to gaze towards the windows, he saw the downpour streaming down the old panes of glass. The rain pounded on the roof above, the steady sound providing a comfortable white noise as he snuggled deeper into the comfort of his bed and the woman sleeping next to him, the heavy blankets cocooning them together.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome closer to him, her back to his chest as she slept like a baby. It had been the first time Inuyasha had slept well in two days, having not slept at all the night before while keeping watch over his chosen. Though the circumstances of Kagome’s return were devastating ones, Inuyasha was all too happy to have her in his bed with him. He nuzzled the back of her neck and behind her ear gently in a very canine display of affection.

Kagome stirred and sighed deeply, shifting her body slightly on the soft mattress. She froze momentarily, and Inuyasha understood that she was remembering the events of the day before. The Inu-Hanyou soothed her by tightening his hold around her stomach to reassure her that he was there and that she was safe. Kagome finally gave in and relaxed her body, all too happy to be in his embrace.

“Good morning, Inuyasha.” Kagome said sleepily.

Inuyasha replied by kissing the back of her neck. It was a good morning. He had woken up in his bed next to his intended mate, and he wasn’t planning on letting her leave that bed any time soon.

Though the emotionally draining events of the day before were not behind either of them yet, right now, the only thing on Inuyasha’s mind was to make Kagome forget her worries by pleasuring her. Inuyasha wanted no talk of Naraku, the power struggle, or land to worry his chosen. He wanted to protect Kagome from reality for as long as possible. He had a feeling that Kagome could not only use the mental distraction, but would welcome it.

Through Kagome’s sleepy haze, she felt the slow, determined ministrations that Inuyasha applied to the back of her neck. It didn’t take long for her sleepiness to fade and be replaced with arousal. She jerkily turned her body to face the Inu-Hanyou, realizing for the first time that he was shirtless, having slept in only a pair of boxers. She happily ran a hand along his muscular chest as Inuyasha’s own caressed the small of her back while he passionately kissed her, his fangs nipping at her lower lip.

Next, Inuyasha’s hand traveled to Kagome’s hip, reaching down to the hem of his t-shirt she wore. He slipped his hand underneath it, hiking the thin fabric to her waist as he trailed the tips of his retracted claws along her skin, stopping to caress her breasts as Kagome’s tongue boldly entered his mouth.

Though it had been days since their last tryst, with a major fight and several crises in between, Inuyasha and Kagome found it easy to pick up where they left off. Their raw, passionate feelings knew no bounds and the hunger they had for each other felt natural and was without even a hint of awkwardness or regret.

It wasn’t long before Inuyasha’s arousal made itself known, growing longer and harder and beginning to strain at his boxers, tugging at the thin fabric to press against the warm, uncovered skin of Kagome’s thigh.

He groaned as her hand trailed down his taught abdomen, coming to rest on his bulging erection between them. Kagome slowly palmed his length, sliding her hand up and down the fabric of his boxers, and Inuyasha had to fight the urge to buck his hips in time to her motions. He focused instead on her neck, trailing his tongue along the sensitive skin, stopping at her ear to nibble its lobe as she shivered in his arms. He returned his mouth to Kagome’s, kissing her harder and more passionately as she increased the pressure and frequency of her stokes.

As Inuyasha was about to turn the tables on his chosen and insist that he serve her the pleasure he knew she desired, Kagome pushed forward, literally, by pushing him onto his back so that she was half way on top of him. She slipped her hand into his boxers, the soft, warm, skin of her palm caressing his stiff manhood. At the same time, she darted her head to the side, beginning to lay soft, hot kisses along his collarbone before moving along his neck, trailing her tongue between her kisses. He almost gasped in surprise when Kagome’s fingers began pulling at the top of his boxers, asking for him to raise his hips as she pulled them down to his knees, at the same time pushing away the blankets that covered them.

Inuyasha had to pierce his lip with one of his fangs to keep himself from getting too close to release as she continuously stroked him, now unhindered by his boxers. She must have known how far she was pushing him, how could she not when he could barely keep his moans in check? He knew now that it would be a fight for him to turn the tables, and that if he didn’t, he would loose control, and it was way too early in the day for that. He wanted himself to hold back as long as possible.

His chest vibrated as he growled deep in his throat, and Kagome paused her actions momentarily, giving him the spur he needed. In one swift motion, he rolled her over, kicked off his boxers, and stood up on all fours, looking down at her menacingly, a cocky smirk on his face.

Their naked bodies so close together and he in such a dominate position while his woman lay submissively still beneath him, Inuyasha detachedly realized that his aura was asking her own to submit to him. When Kagome’s aura quieted in response, Inuyasha realized too late that he should not have put himself in such a position. He suddenly felt his youkai throb, a double, pounding, almost painful heartbeat. As Kagome turned her head away from him, baring her neck submissively, Inuyasha’s eyes bled crimson in response.

When Inuyasha failed to pay homage to her neck as Kagome had expected him to, and instead had suddenly frozen for no apparent reason, she raised her head in question. Kagome licked his collarbone cautiously, looking for a reaction from her eerily still lover.

After Kagome’s tentative actions, Inuyasha lost control of his transformation. His youkai quickly took over his body and mind, surging through his blood as Kagome flaunted her submission before him. The purple stripes of his Inu-Youkai heritage blazed across Inuyasha’s cheeks and a growl formed deep in his throat, the tone deeper than Kagome had ever heard before as its intensity made his vocal cords rattle.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked, looking up at his face.

For a moment, Kagome thought she was hallucinating. Inuyasha’s eyes were red, his pupils black. Two purple streaks marked his cheeks, his canines were longer, and his aura had shifted. It was unstable, fluctuating between who she knew he was and something still Inuyasha, but more… primal. Dangerous even.

Though Kagome didn’t know exactly what was happening to Inuyasha, she could feel through his aura his human side retreating and his jyaki increasing. Even knowing that his primal youkai instincts were somehow surfacing, Kagome disregarded her own safety and threw her arms around Inuyasha. She trusted that Inuyasha’s love for her would be enough to bring him back from wherever he had gone.

“Kagome…” Inuyasha groaned, his strangely deep, contorted voice gurgling deep in his throat.

Inuyasha had heard Kagome call his name, albeit faintly as he struggled for control over his darker half. It was rare that he would transform to his youkai form, and rarer still for him to be able to cease the transformation once it started, but when Kagome’s arms snaked around his torso and pulled his body to hers, he suddenly felt at ease.

With the feel of his chosen’s embrace, Inuyasha’s body immediately collapsed, his full weight crashing onto Kagome, knocking the breath from her lungs. She bit her lip and endured the pain, cradling his head to her collarbone as his body violently shivered from the strain of the transformation and subsequent de-transformation. Kagome repeated his name over and over again as she tried to soothe him.

“Inuyasha, Inuyasha?” She repeated. “Are you okay?”

The Inu-Hanyou was stunned. Though he couldn’t fathom why, Kagome did not seem afraid of him and only worry tainted her sweet voice. Inuyasha rolled onto his back to take the pressure of his weight off of her, beads of sweat erupting on the skin of his brow. His greatest fear had become a reality, and Kagome had not yet fled. Instead, she only shifted her body closer, pressing her palm to his cheek. He could feel her aura trying to soothe him the way his own would do to soothe her.

“Are you okay?” Kagome asked again, tentatively.

Inuyasha replied only by deterring his gaze from her beautiful, worried face.

Kagome sensed a range of emotions from him. Anger, embarrassment, and most of all, fear. She wanted nothing more than to banish them all, to somehow protect and calm the spooked Inu-Hanyou the way he had done the same for her on countless number of occasions. But before she could do that, he would have to open up to her and tell her what was going on.

“Inuyasha, I’m here for you. Please tell me what just happened.” Kagome whispered.

Still unable to meet her gaze, Inuyasha shakily spoke. “This is why I was so afraid to let myself get close to you.”

“Why, Inuyasha? What was that just now? It was you, I could still sense you, but it was something… someone else, too.” Kagome said, covering his naked, shaking body with her own to try to ease him.

The Inu-Hanyou finally met Kagome’s eyes, seeing nothing but worry and concern in her chocolate depths. Inuyasha had already promised himself to be open and honest with this woman, but still, it was hard for him to tell the one he loved his most dangerous, terrible flaw.

Inuyasha sighed loudly. “Every youkai has the ability to transform at will into their true form, a more… primal version of the heritage. For instance, Sesshomaru can turn into a giant Inu warrior. I’m sure you’ve seen the paintings along the hallways of the mansion of towering, vicious looking dogs? Those are the true youkai forms of my Inu-Youkai ancestors.”

Kagome’s mouth hung slack as she remembered a number of the chilling paintings and the detail of the canine’s billowing fur, glinting fangs, and sharp claws. As she tried to digest the information, she had too many questions to settle on just one to ask. Thankfully, Inuyasha continued.

“Since I’m only half youkai, I don’t have such control over my youkai blood, and when I’m either fighting for my life while separated from my sword, of if I get angry or frustrated, my youkai blood takes over. I’m unstable, and most of the time, I can’t control myself. I’m… dangerous when it happens.” He said haltingly as he tore his gaze from her once more.

Kagome took Inuyasha’s chin in her hand and forced him to look at her. “Would you ever hurt me, Inuyasha?”

“Of course not!” Inuyasha snapped, but then sighed forlornly. “I would never hurt you, but I don’t know if my Inner Youkai would do the same.” He paused momentarily and eyed her questioningly. “I’ve almost never been able to halt my transformation before, but you, you just stopped it. Just your presence alone.”

“See? I stopped your transformation this time. That means that I can do it again.” Kagome said confidently. It hurt her that Inuyasha was taking his hanyou heritage so hard on himself when it was not something he had any control over in the first place. “Inuyasha, I understand why you’re worried, but I’m not afraid. Your youkai side is a part of who you are. You just have to learn to come to terms with that, and try to integrate what you believe to be bad and dangerous into what is good and safe. You can’t let this be a reason to keep us apart.”

Inuyasha examined the understanding, loving woman still soothing him, and couldn’t understand why she was so good to him, or why the Gods had chosen to grace him with her presence. He swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to keep her happy for putting up with him if he hadn’t scared her away by the time he was done with his explanations. But first, there was more that he had to get off his chest, more that she had to know for her own good before he would go any further, things he should have told her long ago.

Inuyasha fidgeted. “There’s… one other thing that can cause me to lose control of my youkai blood. It’s something that I wasn’t even aware of before I even met you and its the reason why I lost control just now.”

Kagome’s eyebrows crinkled. “What is it?” She asked questioningly.

“I’ve always been told that when an Inu-Youkai feels the may take place. You need to understand that when I realized you were my chosen was when it became impossible for me to suppress my feelings for you. See, when you asked me if I wanted a relationship, I pushed you away because I knew I wouldn’t stop until I had mated myself to you.” Inuyasha explained.

“Whoa, whoa. Mating? Marking? What’s a chosen?” Kagome asked, the strange terms bombarding her. Though she was bordering on an information overload, she couldn’t resist the blush on Inuyasha’s face at her question.

Inuyasha forced himself to speak, the blush on his cheeks burning as he sat up and twisted his body around, pulling Kagome with him. He pressed his back to the headboard and turned Kagome around to cradle the young woman in his arms as she looked up at him.

“A chosen is a youkai term for a soul-mate, one that you are drawn to spend the rest of your life with.” He finally answered.

“Re… Rest of your life? But we’ve only known each other for little more than a month and a half!“ Kagome stuttered, blushing an even deeper shade of red than the hanyou.

Inuyasha winced at her reaction. It might seem odd to Kagome, but as a youkai who understood the magnetic draw of finding their chosen, it hurt him for her to think the idea crazy. “It doesn’t matter. A youkai tends to know just days after meeting the person, in some cases, they know instantly that they’ve found their chosen. A youkai can’t pick the one they are destined to be with.”

Kagome made a mocking face. “So, in other words, you mean you’re stuck with me?”

“Damn it, Kagome, I’m being serious here!” Inuyasha snapped, his brows meeting.

Kagome lowered her head at Inuyasha’s outburst. She had been trying to make light of the situation, waiting for him to laugh or say he was just kidding, anything to let her know that she wasn’t hearing what she actually wanted to hear. But once she looked into his eyes, she knew this wasn’t a joke. Inuyasha was being very serious.

The Inu-Hanyou gathered himself to get the last needed explanation off his chest, the final straw that could very well break Kagome’s back. “Another reason I shied away from you when you asked for a commitment was because I was also scared. I felt that I was in danger of physically hurting you, whether it was due to me not being able to contain my transformation in a dangerous setting with you in my presence, or if you if you would have for some reason agreed to mate with me.”

“How could you have hurt me, Inuyasha?” Kagome asked.

Inuyasha took a moment to gather to right words. “Since you know so little of youkai customs, let me try to explain this easily… when a youkai claims their mate, they mark each other, it’s a signal to other youkai that they’re taken. Kinda like a primal wedding ring, only its based on scent rather than a metal band. Specifically, in the canine youkai world, the male leaves a scar on his female mate as a mark of belonging. Inu-Youkai males are notoriously territorial and possessive.”

Inuyasha ignored Kagome’s expression that told him that she knew all too well what he was referring to as he continued. “But there are dangers with come with the mating process. It can be a little… rough. Especially for a human.”

Kagome nodded at him. Though she didn’t quite understand the full extent of the mating process, she understood the worry he was trying to convey. He was simply scared of hurting her.

The Inu-Hanyou shrugged. “Its just that this whole thing is difficult for me because I’ve always denied these youkai terms and rituals, thinking that they didn’t apply to me because I was hanyou and had never felt anything like it before. But then I met you, and began to experience them. At first it was only another reason for me to continue to push you away, but now… now I just love you too damn much to be without you.”

Kagome smiled sweetly at the Inu-Hanyou’s kind words. “Inuyasha, you’ve spent your whole life denying your youkai heritage just because you were born a hanyou. Why don’t you try embracing it for a change? Human blood, youkai blood, all of it is you.”

Kagome steeled herself for a commitment that, though she knew it was no insignificant decision, it was one that in her heart she knew she was ready to make. “So long as you love me, Inuyasha, I will be by your side.” She said and then blushed brightly. “Besides, you’ve been so busy talking that I haven’t gotten to tell you that I never said I was opposed to the youkai customs.”

Inuyasha’s expression instantly brightened, his arms gripping Kagome tighter in his excitement. “You mean you’d be willing to…”

“Mate with you?” Kagome finished, swallowing audibly. It wasn’t fear, only worry that she had no real sexual experience other than what she had already experienced with Inuyasha.

“Are you sure? It’s a big commitment, Kagome. Mating is like marriage, only it’s without the option of a divorce. See, you can you only have one chosen. Not to say that a chosen can’t cheat on or leave their mate, but once two chosen have found and mated each other, they simply won’t find true love again.” Inuyasha explained.

The Inu-Hanyou stalled momentarily, knowing the information to be a lot for Kagome to digest, and he was worried that his words would deter Kagome’s original interest. But it was important for his potential mate to know all these things that youkai instinctually knew and humans did not. “Besides, mating is for life, and like I told you… it can be rough.” Inuyasha finally finished.

Hearing Inuyasha say the words, ‘for life’, Kagome’s mind didn’t hesitate to tell her that there was definitely no one other than Inuyasha that she’d wish to be bound to for the rest of her life. “Well then, you’ll just have to take it easy on me.” She replied.

Kagome almost chuckled at obviously rendering Inuyasha speechless, his mouth hanging slack. She was surprised at how easy it was for her to make her decision. Her reply had felt like second nature in response to his words. “I’m not so sure about this whole chosen thing, but ever since I first met you, it felt like there was a magnet pulling us together.”

Inuyasha nodded. “That’s the bond of the chosen.”

Kagome nodded in understanding. “Look, all I know is that I’ve never felt like this before for anyone. I feel weird because it’s only been one and a half months, and I already love you so much.”

“Gods, Kagome. You have no idea how much I love you.” Inuyasha said quietly, his grip tightening around the girl.

Kagome’s hand drifted up to cup his cheek, her own face burning brightly. “Then show me.”

“But-“ Inuyasha began.

Kagome silenced him. “Make me your mate, Inuyasha.”

“And you’ll be mine?” He asked.

“What kind of stupid question is that?” Kagome asked, her brow knitting.

Inuyasha chuckled. “Okay, okay… you asked for it.” He said suggestively, a lopsided grin on his face as he threw her body back onto the bed, her head sinking into the soft pillow. He was pleased with Kagome’s excited chuckle as she sunk into the feathery mattress before he leaned over her. “You’re mine, now.” He growled.

As Kagome was about to come back with what was sure to be another witty retort, Inuyasha silenced her lips with his own, capturing the soft skin with his mouth. His arousal returning full force, he sensed Kagome’s aura responding, no less in the mood than he himself.

Inuyasha slung one side of his body over her own, again on all fours above Kagome. This time, he confidently kept his youkai blood in check as he ravished her neck, Kagome’s nails biting into the flesh of his back in response. His head traveled down, leaving a trail of hot kisses over her neck and across her collarbone. Finding her shirt to be in the way, Inuyasha allowed his claws to extend slightly to tear through the cloth barrier in one swift motion, not even wanting to take the time to pull it off her body. Kagome blinked at him in surprise but eagerly shrugged her shoulders out of the material as his long, pointed claws danced along her bare skin. Inuyasha then leaned down to her now bare solar plexus before paying homage to her right nipple with his mouth, and her left with his hand.

When Kagome’s persistent moans had tortured his arousal enough, Inuyasha trailed downwards still, his tongue leaving a hot trail that chilled her flesh in its absence. Nibbling at her navel briefly, he finally sunk between her legs, his hot breath collecting at her core as he tried desperately to ignore his throbbing erection. Inuyasha wasted no time in pleasuring his woman, his tongue aptly licking and tugging as her moans of pleasure sang sweet music to his sensitive ears.

Inuyasha inserted a finger into Kagome’s core, thrusting in and out in time to her rising and falling hips. He slid a second finger alongside the first, stretching her further and her back arched in response. Kagome reached between her legs to massage the base of Inuyasha’s ears as he worked his magic.

It was a gorgeous sight to behold as Kagome bucked and moaned from his ministrations, nearing her climax, and Inuyasha was only too happy to watch his chosen’s control slip and her body react, caught in its own wild abandon.

Suddenly, Inuyasha pulled his fingers from inside her and stopped. When Kagome looked down for him in question, she reveled at the sight that greeted her. Inuyasha was gracefully propped up on his hands and feet in between her hips, his shoulders jutting out in a predatory stance. She saw the primal gleam return to Inuyasha eyes. As Inuyasha slowly inched his body back over hers, his golden eyes never left her own. His movements slow and deliberate, the heat of his arousal pressed against her abdomen and his long hair tickling her torso, Kagome waited with baited breath.

Inuyasha felt his youkai blood surge once more as Kagome lay waiting beneath him, her aura tugging on his own, begging him to take her. He maintained control of his youkai, allowing it to surge through his veins, but not take control of his mind. He heard the growl forming deep in his throat, a steady, even hum as opposed to the violent response that resulted from danger. He was asking for her submission, her allowance to accept his mark.

When Kagome turned her head and exposed her neck, Inuyasha’s fangs extended slightly as he leaned down to nibble her earlobe, lowering his body to line himself up for entry. Feeling the head of his manhood at her wet, hot entrance, his rhythmic growl jumped at the sensation, a moan escaping his raspy throat. Resisting the urge to plunge inside her and ravish her as his youkai blood demanded, he held himself back.

His vision locked on Kagome’s submissive form and his youkai blood boiled beneath the surface of his skin and Inuyasha was shocked when he suddenly felt his youkai and its jyaki recede slightly. Though it was still very much running rapidly through his veins, apparently, as much as his youkai side chosen was human, fragile, and virgin. Suddenly, Inuyasha welcomed the knowledge that even his youkai half agreed that his soon to be mate’s welfare and pleasure was his first concern, and even it agreed that he should take it easy and slow on Kagome until she could willingly accept stronger coupling. It was to be sure that their first time together, their initial mating, would be gentle and slow.

Though he was confident now that he would not hurt her, Inuyasha’s forced, dry voice caught his chosen’s attentions and he prepared himself to give her one last chance to back out. “Do you want me, Kagome?”

Kagome turned to look into Inuyasha’s eyes. She could tell that his youkai blood had calmed, though his appearance seemed to be a combination of his hanyou and youkai forms. His irises were a mix of amber and crimson, and his wiry strength had doubled.

“Please.” She finally begged of him, and squinted her eyes shut, readying herself.

Inuyasha’s desperate question had been not only to make sure that Kagome had no second doubts. It had also been the simple, age old request of a youkai male asking his chosen to become his mate, and hearing her answer, Inuyasha could not hold himself back any longer.

His mouth found the base of Kagome’s neck and collarbone, and as Inuyasha slowly sank inside his chosen’s warmth, giving her time to adjust to his size, his teeth barely pierced the sensitive flesh of Kagome’s neck. His chosen released a surprised yelp, and it was all he could do resist the instinct to not sink his teeth in deeper as his youkai blood instructed him. He held the urges at bay while his mark established itself, his aura glowing brightly and finally convening on Kagome’s where his teeth met her skin. Slowly, Kagome’s aura receded and Inuyasha did not hesitate to cover it with that of his own, though hers was still visible beneath.

Once he was fully seated inside her warmth, Inuyasha paused, feeling wetness slide onto his cheek, the smell of salt in the air. Kagome was crying. Releasing his teeth from Kagome’s skin, the small circular wounds barely bleeding, he worried for her.

“Are you okay?” Inuyasha asked, straining to hold himself still against the need of his desire. Fearing that he had hurt or frightened his chosen, he asked Kagome’s forgiveness by licking gently at the underside of her chin in the canine body language for a request for forgiveness and affection.

“Mmm hmm.” Kagome finally responded, a second tear rushing from the corner of her eye.

It wasn’t that Inuyasha’s entrance had been painful. She may have been a virgin, but only in the technical sense of the term after she had lost her maidenhead many years ago. Inuyasha’s teeth against her sensitive neck and the subsequent pressure from his jaws had initially shocked her, but the pain was brief, and not too unpleasant.

When Inuyasha had lightly bitten Kagome, when his aura had asked permission to envelop her own, she had somehow instinctively known that he was marking her, and she felt his solid determination, his mantra to himself to be gentle. And when their auras had merged, that alone had felt almost as good as how he now felt inside of her. His aura had wordlessly informed her that they had mated, and that she was now his, and likewise he hers. And she couldn’t be happier.

“It feels good. You and your aura.” Kagome clarified. To reassure him, Kagome shakily thrust her hips towards his, urging him to continue in their dance. “Don’t stop.” She whispered. “It feels good.”

Her answer seemed to satisfy Inuyasha, and he took a moment to gently lick the wounds he had inflicted on his chosen. ‘No.’ He told himself, ‘My mate.’

It surprised him when Kagome moaned as his tongue crossed over the two puffy, red circles on her neck. She had taught him much since Inuyasha had met her, and now he was learning the intricacies of mating through her, and now he had learned that nursing his mark could bring her pleasure. He smiled.

“Mate.” He whispered as his tongue once again danced across the mark he had left at the base of Kagome’s neck.

Through her moan, Kagome’s detachedly realized that Inuyasha’s one word sentence had demanded that she answer his call. “Mate.” She whispered in return.

A smile danced across Inuyasha’s lips as he slowly drew himself out of Kagome, only to slowly slide back in. Kagome’s back arched, her breasts pushing against Inuyasha’s chest and he bent his head to suckle at a nipple. Kagome’s nails slid up Inuyasha’s back, raked against the back of his neck and buried themselves in his hair.

He was so big, and his length felt like it filled all of her, making her feel somehow complete. It didn’t take long for the initial intrusion of his entrance to fade to pleasure, and every time Inuyasha pulled out, his head teasing her opening, Kagome moaned in pleasure. Every time he buried himself within her, the base of his manhood rubbing against her sweet spot, she cried out in rapture.

When Inuyasha’s mouth returned to Kagome’s lips, she tilted her head and pulled Inuyasha’s forehead to her collarbone. She nibbled her way to his ear, her tongue flicking along its furry, outer edge as her hand found its triangular mate. Her hot breath and moans that echoed in Inuyasha’s ear caused goosebumps to break out across his arms as his thrusts began to quicken.

She was so tight, and every time Inuyasha buried himself to his hilt, he only wanted to be deeper inside of her, every time he pulled back from her tightness, he only wanted to be sheathed by her warmth again. As sweat began to bead on his brow, Inuyasha caught Kagome’s lips with his own, kissing her passionately. His thrusts had become needy, frantic, and he could feel himself nearing climax.

So he stopped.

Inuyasha had lusted for this day since he had first laid his eyes on Kagome, and once he had acknowledged as much, he had spent nearly every waking moment imagining all of the things he would do to her once they had mated. Before he lost his control completely, he was determined to do at least a few of them.

Kagome looked at her Inu-Hanyou questioningly, but Inuyasha ignored her, concentrating on calming himself down so as not to spend himself so soon. His ears twitched as Kagome took the initiative, thrusting up to meet his hips, her aura begging her mate to continue, and again, Inuyasha almost lost his control. He barely held on, but refusing to find release before his mate, he pulled himself out of Kagome’s warmth and backed off of her, kneeling between her feet. Kagome didn’t have the chance to ask him why he had stopped when Inuyasha grabbed her by her thighs and pulled her body down to meet his.

Inuyasha couldn’t help but stare at the sight that was Kagome, her body spread across the mattress, her long black hair spilling haphazardly across the pillows above her, her naked, flushed skin rosy with a sheen of sweat. But most of all, her eyes captured him, begging him to come back to her. Inuyasha appeased his mate by giving her what she wanted.

Still on his knees and kneeling between her legs, Inuyasha held his member at Kagome’s entrance, teasing her with his head. Kagome squirmed, her hips thrusting towards him, but as much as he wanted to, Inuyasha refused to thrust all the way into her. Instead, he held the base of his shaft steady as he parted her folds with his manhood, only to pull back out. Again, he repeated his actions, this time, allowing his entire head to sink into her, and then he pulled out. Kagome’s nails sunk into Inuyasha’s muscular thighs as he continued to tease her with his head, inserting it into her, pausing, and then bucking his hips quickly before pulling out.

His teasing was working Kagome up quickly, and as she panted hotly, squirming on the bed below him, Inuyasha realized that she was all too happy to be teased by him. Her aura begged to have all of him, and finally he appeased them both by filling her with himself. Neither lover could bite back their moans as Inuyasha’s member sunk even deeper into her in their new position. Slowly, he began to thrust in and out of her hot, tight depths, taking care to pull back far enough to tease her sweet spot with his head without exiting her completely.

Inuyasha allowed Kagome to set the pace, and as her hips began to rise and fall faster and faster, he felt her nearing climax, the walls that surrounded his member flexing him and holding him even tighter. Instinct guiding him, Inuyasha’s hand reached down and sought out her clit, the rough pad of his thumb tracing small, rapid circles on the tender flesh.

Her mate’s actions tipped Kagome over the edge. “Inu… yasha!” She exclaimed.

Kagome bit her lip as her orgasm gripped her, all conscious thought gone as her vision burned white and she succumbed to nirvana. She arched her back and fisted the disheveled bed sheets as Inuyasha’s fingers danced across her sweet spot and he filled her again.

Kagome’s body slumped, relaxing as she caught her breath, but the hold her core held on Inuyasha did not, and the slick, hot wetness that proved that she had come for him only enticed the Inu-Hanyou further. His hands grabbed at Kagome’s hips and his clawed fingers held her roughly as he increased his pace, his own climax inevitably close.

Kagome completely submitted her body to Inuyasha’s needy thrusts as his hips pounded between her legs, burying himself into her core over and over again. Suddenly, Inuyasha’s body fell on top of her own, and he supported himself with his muscular arms on either side of her arms. Kagome’s legs wound around Inuyasha’s waist, pulling him deeper still as her arms found his chiseled back, her nails raking the soft skin. She reached up to nibble underneath his chin, her hot breath blowing on his sweaty skin, and as he continuously pounded her time and again, Kagome could feel her arousal begin to tighten in her belly once more.

Inuyasha dipped his head to the base of Kagome’s neck, his tongue dancing across the mark he had left, the symbol of their unification. His lips circled the wound and his sharp teeth nibbled at the holes he had left in her skin and Kagome’s moans increased, her hips finally responding to his own, meeting each hungry thrust.

As he pushed Kagome over the deep end a second time, the sweet sound of her moaning voice was music to his ears and Inuyasha lost control himself. He bit his lip to keep himself quiet. Low, spastic grunts were the only sounds Inuyasha made as he frantically spilled his seed into his mate.

Finally spent, Inuyasha collapsed on top of Kagome, their sweaty bodies connecting stickily. He rolled to the side slightly to take the majority of his weight off her, his slowly shrinking member still nestled in his mate’s depths.

Tentatively, Inuyasha’s panting breaths found Kagome’s chin and he licked it tenderly. “Are you okay?” He asked, hoping he had managed to be gentle enough with his inexperienced lover.

Kagome happily noticed that Inuyasha’s half transformed features had restored themselves to his normal hanyou appearance. She had never had a doubt that Inuyasha would hurt her. Kagome only smiled as she caught her breath. “It was awesome.” She sighed.

Inuyasha’s chest swelled with pride. He could have said a million different witty remarks at that moment, but instead, he held his tongue, not wanting to ruin the perfect moment. “You were great.” He told her.

Kagome responded with a blush. When a shiver traveled across her body as their sticky sweat began to dry on their skin, Inuyasha felt it. He pulled himself from Kagome’s depths and though his very soul felt the loss of losing his connection with his mate, he grabbed haphazardly to the side, snatching the tangled mess of blankets to pull them across their bodies to fight off the chill.

Inuyasha held Kagome close, his body hugging hers, his arm across her waist, and his leg over hers. His mouth found the mark he had left on her neck and his finger traced the wound as his mouth nuzzled behind her ear.

Quietly, he whispered into her ear. “Mate.”

Kagome shuddered at Inuyasha’s hot breath and soft touch. “…mate.” She replied tiredly.

Inuyasha smirked, the small grin turning into a full fledged smile as he felt and heard Kagome’s heartbeat slow and her breathing even out. She had fallen asleep.

As the gentle white noise of the steadily falling rain beat against the windowpanes of Inuyasha’s room, the Inu-Hanyou soon joined his mate in slumber.

* * *


Author’s notes: Please review, as feedback would be much appreciated. It helps the next update to be posted sooner!