InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted: Red and Amber ❯ Instincts.2 ( Chapter 2 )

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

"Hunting you I can smell you - alive
Your heart pounding in my head"


+-Part 1: Instincts-+
*continued*


After several minutes of searching, Inuyasha finally found a source of water large enough to wash his friend in. Laying Kagome on the bank next to the small pond, he began to untie her shirt's front bow. There was no second thought required before undressing her; as much as his possible reactions to her naked skin worried him, seeing to any injuries and making sure she woke up was more important. Once her top and skirt were completely off -- which had definitely been no small feat with his claws -- Inuyasha paused to stare at Kagome's body.

He'd never seen her like this. Sure, that skirt never did leave much to the imagination, but she was always very careful about keeping everything from her stomach to her neck covered. Inuyasha slowly ran one claw down the side of her torso, starting from the bottom of her bra's side strap and ending just as his hand met underwear. His eyes roamed her body until they once again landed on one of her hands, returning his thoughts to the fight. Amazing power had come from that hand just minutes ago. Without hesitation, his Kagome had blown away teams of youkai. He couldn't help but note how dangerously beautiful she was in battle. But here, sleeping like she was now, there was a different kind of gentle beauty about her. Inuyasha looked away from Kagome's hand and back to her body, now seeing the bruises and scratches he had originally been looking for. Assuming she wasn't damaged under the skin where he couldn't see, she looked like she would be all right.

Kagome's mind barely registered the shiver of a claw traveling down her body. Consciousness was slowly coming back to her though, and she realized she could hear the soft trickle of water close by. Another sound caught her attention, though; like harsh breathing. Curious, Kagome slit open her eyes to peer at splotches of bright light peaking between patches of darkness. Once her eyes were in focus, she saw that it was the sun shining through the forest canopy overhead. Inuyasha was also hanging over her, staring into her eyes now. Suddenly, Kagome's remaining senses returned to her, making her extremely aware of Inuyasha's clawed hand against her hip. She couldn't help it as all other thoughts disappeared to leave behind only the memories of her dreams.

Inuyasha felt the youkai stir inside when Kagome's sweet aroma hit his nose. The same scent as all those nights before. He couldn't help but wondering if it had always been him that had caused those thoughts in her head. And deep down he hoped it was true. Without thought to the consequences, Inuyasha's mouth came crashing down on Kagome's own. Her eyes shot wide open at the contact, but quickly narrowed again in acceptance and pleasure at the realization that this was actually happening. Her fingers itched to feel his hair, wondering if it would feel silky or coarse like a dog's fur. In correspondence with her wishes, Kagome lifted her arms with the idea of wrapping them around Inuyasha's back only to feel a shock of agony stab her side in protest. She unintentionally broke the kiss with her cry of pain.

Inuyasha leaped back in surprise with confusion and concern written all over his face. When the inu hanyou noticed the girl clenching her stomach and wincing, he realized what the problem must have been. "Kagome, what's wrong with it?" he asked, knowing only that she was injured.

She considered the pain and figured that she had probably broken something; a rib maybe. Reluctantly lifting her hands and looking down at the area of pain, Kagome flinched at the huge bruise of yellow and purple forming there. "I think I broke a bone. It sure feels like I'm not whole, anyway," she answered wryly. Pondering the possible consequences, Kagome figured it would be best if she had the doctors at home heal this. She trusted Kaede, but this was Sengoku Jidai, after all. The girl miko then glanced up at Inuyasha hesitantly, knowing he probably wouldn't like what she was going to say. "Ne... Inuyasha. I think I should go home for this."

"I'm coming with you," he had replied immediately. No pause to consider her reasoning, no yelling to disagree, just a simple command that he accompany her. Something in his voice told Kagome not to argue over the point. Something in his eyes burned possessively.

Kagome nodded slowly to Inuyasha and noticed how he seemed to relax instantly. The boy then scanned her body over again, as if he hadn't just been doing that a minute before, and stripped off his haori to dip it in the pond water. Carefully, he rubbed the dirt off of Kagome's skin and paid attention to how much pressure he applied around her bruises. The girl stared at him in wonder, her eyes following his hands while occasionally going back to watch his face. She couldn't help the blush that spread across her face and was angered to notice how unfazed Inuyasha himself seemed by the intimate contact. Oh, if only she knew the turmoil inside the hanyou's mind just then. Yet, Kagome had no notion about this, and they were both thankful when the washing was complete and Inuyasha tentatively began to dress her in his haori.

It was a difficult task, considering how little Kagome could actually move without hurting herself more. Eventually, Inuyasha had to lift her body slightly to pull the red garment under and around her shoulders. Once the front was carefully tied to ensure that everything was again safely concealed, Inuyasha leaned down to pull Kagome fully into his arms. She marveled at how strong he must be in order to move her around so much without jostling her side. She also noticed that he was holding her with the injured side facing away from his body so that he would not accidentally bump it. It was amazing how thoughtful he was being. And Kagome would not even consider that it had anything to do with that kiss or the look in his eyes afterwards, because she did not want to even think about those two things right now.

So as Inuyasha gathered his feet and began to head back toward the rest of their group, Kagome concentrated solely on holding tight and feeling the warm air brush against her face.

~~~~

Voices were shouting downstairs. Kagome smirked to herself, not sure whether she should be upset or touched by Inuyasha's behavior. She did know one thing for sure though: she definitely should have anticipated his reaction to the hospital and stopped him from ever going with her there.

Upon returning to her time, Inuyasha had intended to take Kagome straight to her grandfather. Sure the old man was crazy half the time, but Inuyasha associated priests and shrine caretakers with healers. His instincts told him the elder would know what to do. However, before they'd even reached Kagome's grandpa, her mother happened upon them and exclaimed over the fact that her daughter was in the arms of a youkai...

"Kagome! Is this what I think it is?" she'd cried, excitable as ever.

"Ano.. Mama... Inuyasha's carrying me because I got hurt," Kagome had quickly answered, hoping to calm her poor mother down. A new blush erupted on her cheeks as well as on Inuyasha's, as if they were competing to see who could best match the color of his clothes.

"Oh..." Disappointment covered the older woman's face as she looked down.

Well, it wasn't the reaction most mothers would have, and it did disturb Kagome a little. But at least it meant that her mother wasn't angry. Soon after that, a cab arrived at the bottom of the shrine steps to take the three to the hospital and into the emergency room, thanks to Mrs. Higurashi making some quick calls. Inuyasha would not let go of Kagome throughout the entire ride to the hospital, and further refused to relinquish her while they sat in the waiting room. Thankfully, Kagome's mom agreed to fill out all the needed paperwork so that Kagome wouldn't have to figure out a way to do it in her unfamiliar position in Inuyasha's lap. They received a few strange looks from other patients and a couple dreamy looks from passing nurses, which only made Kagome's blush deepen. Inuyasha, on the other hand, hadn't really understood what the big deal was and continued to glare at their surroundings while growling occasionally. Oddly enough, no one seemed fazed by Inuyasha's appearance. The only real problem came when the doctor walked in to announce that they were ready to see Higurashi Kagome in Emergency Room B-1. Without hesitation, Inuyasha had followed her mother into the medical room, not thinking for one moment that he would leave Kagome's side, and all hell broke loose when he set eyes on the foreign instruments there.

One low, menacing growl and a sharp intake of breath later, the doctor and nurses were half-successfully restraining the inu hanyou from busting open the door to get out while Kagome frantically tried to calm him down from her position in his arms and her mother stood back in confusion. She plainly did not understand what had set the boy off or how she could possibly help control him in this situation. Kagome had had little time until later to reflect on how gentle and careful Inuyasha had been with her even then, when he was fighting to break free from several different people. In the end, Kagome had threatened that she would never help him find shards again unless he stopped struggling right now and let the medical people take care of her -- all of this in a whisper of course. Her words took a few moments to register in his mind, but he slowly calmed down. Then, acting as if the entire scene had not just taken place, Inuyasha had shrugged off the doctor and nurses' arms, lightly deposited Kagome on the operating table, and stalked out of the hospital to go sulk. He had never told her, but Kagome was pretty sure his actions were meant to tell her that if she wasn't going to appreciate what he did for her, then she could just brave whatever the strange people did to her alone.

So much for that feeling of possessiveness she thought she'd been getting from him.

And now, several hours later, Kagome was lying in her own bed back at Higurashi Shrine. She and her mother had arrived home a while ago, no Inuyasha in sight, and Kagome had immediately been taken to her bedroom to sleep. The yelling downstairs now had her awake, though.

"She has somewhere else she needs to be!" shouted an impatient Inuyasha.

"She has healing ribs that need her to be here!" argued her disgruntled mother. The thundering of someone stomping through the house followed that last exclamation, and Kagome heard her mother cry out, "Leave her be! She needs her rest!"

Just then, Kagome's door was thrown open as Inuyasha rammed through it to reach her. He was at her side before the door had a chance to hit the wall, but several seconds of silent glaring between the two people gave it enough time to bounce off the wall and slam shut once again. Kagome figured that it was probably a good thing that she had already been awake, otherwise who knew what Inuyasha would have done to bring her out of her sleep. Seeing that her eyes were indeed already open seemed to have thrown the hanyou off balance for a moment, though. Huffing in frustration -- and Kagome suspected worry, as well -- Inuyasha looked over her still form lying there on the bed. He seemed at a loss for words, or maybe he was waiting for her to speak first. Kagome just raised her right eyebrow, throwing the ball in his court.

The boy shifted on his feet twice before opening his mouth. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Kagome immediately looked down at her body, taken off guard by the gentleness now returned to his voice. "I have two broken ribs on my right side where I landed under the tree." She glanced up at Inuyasha's face through her bangs. "The doctor was able to realign the bones and bandaged my midsection, but if I move too much it won't matter," she finished, wondering what Inuyasha was thinking.

He still seemed confused, and his next question confirmed that. "Why can't you move?"

"If I move, the bones won't stay in place, and I'll heal wrong," she explained, sighing. It would be so much easier to tell him this at a yell. Communication with Inuyasha in general was usually much simpler when they were fighting.

Again with the shifting of feet. "How long?"

"It could be a month or more," she answered, knowing that it probably wasn't what Inuyasha wanted to hear. She'd already explained to him once before about how each full cycle of the moon was about a month, so she knew he would understand how long she was taking about. When he didn't say anything for a minute, Kagome raised her face to look in his eyes.

He was stricken, upset, angry, scared. "What if I didn't let you fight? And you never had to walk?" he wondered, sounding desperate.

"Inuyasha, what do you mean?" she replied, thinking he had misunderstood her. Even if she did nothing during the healing, it would still take four to six weeks for her ribs to be all right again.

"I need you," was his low response, said so softly that Kagome would have been sure she was hearing things if it weren't for the fact that she'd seen his mouth move. Suddenly, Inuyasha was kneeling by her face, eyes searching her face for comprehension and agreement. "I can't stay here that long. Who knows what problems Sango and Miroku will get into without me there, and Shippou is probably worried sick about you now. What if we stay in the village? Please, come back," he finished abruptly.

Kagome felt a strange sensation spread through her body and mind at his words. She couldn't name it, and it was too confusing to even explain in words or thoughts. All she knew was that she couldn't refuse him, and that she might as well save her energy for convincing her mother and grandfather. "Give me a couple days, then we'll go back."

~~~~

"Kagome!!!" Shippou cried in glee at the sight of his favorite person approaching the village in Inuyasha's arms. In a blur of orange fur, the kitsune made it from the doorway of Kaede's hut to Kagome and Inuyasha at the forest's edge in mere seconds. He was already flying through the air and halfway through his leap to Kagome's lap when the inu hanyou's growl of warning suggested he back off, which Shippou's quick reflexes easily accomplished. Instead of landing on the miko, the kit plopped down on the older boy's shoulder to greet Kagome from there.

"Ohayo, Kagome! Are you all good now?" the child wondered, speaking as though he was already very confident that she must be fine. He jumped up and down a few times to emphasize his joy at seeing her, much to Inuyasha's annoyance.

"Hai, Shippou-chan! The healers from my home made sure I'd be just fine!" Kagome agreed, smiling brightly up at her adopted son.

"Oi, brat, you watch yourself," Inuyasha cautioned. "It'll be a whole revolution of the moon before she's healthy again, so for now she can't move because her bones aren't right." Kagome sweatdropped at this; it sure wasn't the most impressive explanation, but she figured it was enough to get the point across.

At the hanyou's words, Shippou peered fearfully into Kagome's eyes as if he would be able to see what was wrong with her there. Inuyasha had said she would be all right soon, but just the thought of the miko not being able to move made it sound so much worse. Inuyasha mentally congratulated himself when he saw the look of concern upon the kitsune's face, proud that he had been able to frighten the child into listening to him. "Now, I want you to keep off her until she's fully recovered. That means no jumping, cuddling, NOTHING. And don't expect her to make you dinner, either. She's going to rest and that's it. Got it?" Inuyasha ordered, glaring out of the corner of his eye at the little boy until he got a satisfactory response. Shippou eagerly nodded his acceptance, willing to do anything that would help Kagome.

The girl in question sighed at the two boys. "Inuyasha... it's not that bad. Shippou doesn't have to stay completely away from me. It's not like I have leprosy or anything," she complained. Both youkai turned their heads at her comment, confusion and curiosity evident in their gazes.

"What's leprosy?" Inuyasha questioned.

Kagome merely sighed again and shook her head in reply. If they didn't understand, she wasn't going to explain it.

Thankfully, Sango came running up to see her friend just then, giving Kagome an excuse to not answer Inuyasha's question. "Kagome-chan! How are you?" the older girl wondered while reaching out her arms to embrace the miko. Inuyasha's expression suggested the taijiya not touch the injured girl, but it was only Kagome's response that convinced Sango to stay back.

"Daijobu. However, I do have some broken ribs, so I have to be careful for a little while," Kagome explained, smiling warmly at her friend to show her appreciation. "Has Miroku-sama been keeping his hands to himself while we were away?"

Sango rolled her eyes while clenching a fist. "Not entirely." The monk in question was still on his way over to the little reunion, not having heard any of the conversation so far.

"He tried to grope her while she was sleeping last night. They woke up the village," Shippou supplied in a whisper, cringing when he saw Sango's death stare. The veins in her fist were practically popping out as she glanced over her shoulder at the oblivious letch coming up behind her.

"Kagome-sama! I see you are back, and well I hope?" he wondered, folding his hands inside his robs to give all the appearance of a respectable, religious man. Sango took a few side steps away from him as Inuyasha merely smirked. Kagome sweatdropped at the whole situation. Shippou was snickering from the hanyou's shoulder.

"Kagome-chan is not completely well yet. She has broken bones and will not be able to tolerate any disturbances until she is healed again," Sango snapped at the monk. Miroku looked at her in confusion, not understanding her sudden mood change. "That means your hands cannot wander, houshi-sama," she patiently finished, still refusing to look at his face. Miroku immediately replaced his look of confusion with one of innocence and polite acceptance.

"Surely Kagome-sama need not fear such disturbances. I would never-"

Slap!

Sango sent a tight smile of apology and welcome-back to her friend before turning around and heading back to the village. She walked stiffly and in silence the whole way, Miroku still rubbing the red mark across his cheek and sighing deeply. Looking up again to Kagome, Miroku continued, "I will do whatever I can to help you in this time, Kagome-sama. I can only hope dear Sango will get over her rage in time to be of service, as well. How is it exactly that you are wounded?"

"Oh, my sixth and seventh ribs on the right side were fractured in the accident with the tree," Kagome explained, her version of the story using slightly more medical terms than Inuyasha would have done.

Miroku nodded sagely, although Inuyasha had the suspicion that those words meant just as little to the monk as they did to him. "What were those healers of your home able to do to help you?" he wondered, sounding just as interested in the dull things as he ever does. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, catching Shippou's skeptical expression.

"The doctor -- that's a healer -- cut into my abdominal cavity. Using bonesetters, he repositioned my ribs so that the breaks were even next to each other. Then I was stitched up and bandaged, so hopefully as the ribs heal, they will fuse back together in the right place." Kagome described the whole process as if it was all very matter-of-fact and easy to understand. Inuyasha felt the hairs on his body bristle at the idea of anybody slicing his Kagome open. Shippou looked disgusted at the whole process, sticking his tongue out for emphasis, while Miroku continued to nod.

Again, Inuyasha rolled his eyes. That stupid human man didn't have a clue what she was talking about, either. "Oi, bouzu, stop your fucking nodding. We're going to Kaede's now," he commanded. Kagome had to force back a giggle; she wasn't sure if Inuyasha was actually making fun of Miroku or if he was just jealous and feeling awkward because her vocabulary confused him. Either way, she was amused as the group began to walk toward the older miko's home at the edge of the village.

~~~~

Seventeen days, and Kagome didn't know whether she wanted to blush profusely or scream her head off at Inuyasha's attitude toward her. No, wench, don't make dinner. Sango can do that. Stop trying to cuddle with her, brat, she doesn't need you messing her up! Oi, babaa! Check on Kagome again! You better stick your damn thumbs up your ass before you reach for her leg again or you'll find those hands missing, bouzu!

How long until you're healed, again?

Kagome sighed in frustration, glad that Miroku and Sango were off on an errand for Kaede and Inuyasha was presently out hunting for dinner. The only peace she ever had from his bossy commands and nosy inquiries were while he was hunting or she was sleeping. If she didn't get well soon she just might kill herself for relief, although a part of her knew she should be flattered that the hanyou cared enough to be watching over her so thoroughly. Yet, she had to wonder if she could really last several more weeks like this. She was even beginning to yearn for the long, tiring days on the road.

There was definitely a downside to having time to her own thoughts, however. Without Inuyasha there to hassle her, Kagome kept thinking about that heated kiss they'd shared just a couple weeks ago. As soon as they'd broken apart, it was as if it had never happened. They never spoke about it. They sure as hell never tried to repeat it. There wasn't even the expected tension between the two whenever they were alone or he was hovering over her form to check up on her condition again. Truth be told, Kagome was actually starting to wonder if she'd imagined it. Seriously, it wasn't as if that would be the first fantasy she'd ever had about him. Compared to the kinds of dreams she'd been having recently, that kiss had practically been chaste! She was worried over it, though. Intuition told her that it had, in fact, happened; but what did that mean? Why would Inuyasha ever kiss her? And why was he now ignoring it?

"Oi, Kagome! Daijobu?" Shippou questioned, having noticed the deep look on her face. The little kitsune hopped over to her side, careful not to touch her in case Inuyasha came in at that moment. His innocent eyes stared up at her in concern.

"Daijobu, Shippou-chan! I feel fine, actually." It was true: she did feel fine. Great, in fact. Her side hadn't hurt in a couple days, even when she moved around to go outside and relieve herself or take a bath. She tried not to think about it, just assuming the doctors had told her an extended healing time just to be safe. Kagome still didn't want to take any chances; the last thing she needed was to ruin the healing on her ribs.

"What are you thinking about, then?" the kit asked, ever persistent in his worrying.

"Oh, just Inuyasha," she replied, figuring there was no need in explaining it any further. Shippou would never know exactly what she'd been thinking about the hanyou, but whatever his mind came up with would surely be much more innocent than her own thoughts. She'd let the child youkai think whatever he wanted.

His scowl told her that he had, in fact, come to his own conclusions. Probably the little boy was mentally cursing Inuyasha for keeping him away from Kagome. Shippou's eyes darted around, and he eagerly sniffed at the air, before scurrying up against the girl's side. Kagome glanced down, a little startled from the contact, to see her adopted son cuddling against her leg. With a small smile, she raised her hand to stroke his soft hair. The poor child obviously missed her touch, and she felt him vibrate in a tiny growl of happiness.

Just then, Kagome's head shot up to stare out of Kaede's hut. Her eyes searched the visible forest for any signs of what she was feeling, but unfortunately her eyes weren't nearly as good as her miko powers. Two shards were coming here at an amazing speed. Her heart dropped into her stomach when she realized who it must me. Inuyasha must have sensed their visitor, as well, as he suddenly appeared at the entrance of the hut.

"Stay in here, Kagome. Don't you dare try to move, either!" the hanyou ordered.

Kagome would have been fine with following his directions until he commanded her not to move at all. But that last statement got her angry. "I'll move if I want to. I know I need to heal, but that's no reason why I should just SIT here and watch you two kill yourselves!" she screamed back, purposefully using "the word" in her rage. With a satisfying crunch, Inuyasha's face plummeted through the hut's porch and slammed down against the cold ground underneath. Comically, his legs were still sticking straight out of the hole he'd created, twitching.

"Chikuso... teme.." he got out just before the thunder of quickly moving feet could be heard and felt. With the prayer beads' spell letting up, the hanyou jumped to his feet and whirled around in order to keep himself between Kagome and the tornado of wind and dust that appeared outside the village.

Kouga jumped out from his whirlwind, landing gracefully into a crouch. "Oi, *inukkoro! I heard you got my woman injured! I thought you said you were her protector!" the wolf youkai shouted out, scowling.

Inuyasha instinctively growled at the nickname and the taunt. How the hell would any other youkai learn what had happened to Kagome? Perhaps Kagura had stayed close enough to watch the battle; but still, why would she tell anyone? Unless it was to specifically set Inuyasha and Kouga against each other...

"I am her protector, and that means keeping her away from you. As if you could ever have protected her yourself, anyway, *kaze ookami!" The two glared at each other, one growling and the other letting out more of a snarl. Without any warning, Kouga sprang forward in a dead run, obviously planning to show Inuyasha his fists before the hanyou was able to react to what was happening.

"Kouga-kun, yamete!" Kagome screamed from her position in the doorway of the hut, with Shippou now hiding back. She was leaning against the frame of the opening, though her side still didn't hurt. The outburst accomplished its goal, surprising Kouga into missing his target and jumping to the side to land next to the miko.

"Kagome, you are all right!" he stated as his hands grabbed a hold of hers. Blue slit eyes peered into her round brown ones, searching for confirmation of that fact, while he rubbed his fingers against hers in a soothing motion. Whether he meant to soothe her or himself, Kagome wasn't sure, but the caress started a blush that was steadily growing upwards from her neck.

"Kou-.. Kouga-kun.."

"Get your hands off her, yarou!" Inuyasha abruptly commanded, sounding as though he were yelling despite the relatively low volume to his voice. Kouga immediately turned his gaze back to the hanyou, shock written on his face.

"Your.. smell.." he mumbled out just before leaping out of striking range just in time to avoid Inuyasha's claws. Kagome noticed red flashes in the hanyou's eyes and finally realized what was happening. More confusing, though, was the fact that Tetsusaiga still hung in its scabbard at Inuyasha's waist. Why wasn't the sword working against the youkai?

"Heh.. you thought you could have her," Inuyasha ground out, a smirk forming on his mouth. His voice was much rougher than usual, with a beast-like quality to it. The youkai now faced each other, Inuyasha once again keeping Kagome out of Kouga's view. The two squared off against each other, instincts telling them to compete for the innocent girl. With youkai blood streaming through his veins, Inuyasha was now able to keep up with Kouga's speed. Needless to say, the wolf was taken off guard by this, and almost didn't dodge several claw slashes at his face. The youkai transformation wasn't complete, though; Tetsusaiga had ensured that much. Every once in a while, though, crimson flashed dangerously in the hanyou's eyes, giving him a spurt of energy and viciousness.

Kouga skillfully kicked out, locking heel with jaw. Inuyasha flew backwards, landing on his backside. He didn't stay there long, though. Flipping back to his feet, the inu hanyou lashed out at the next oncoming attack, leaving gashes across Kouga's left cheek and right bicep. Actually out of breath, the wolf lunged back for a breather. Inuyasha took the chance to run toward Kagome. He pulled her over his shoulder, obviously now forgetting her need to "heal," and raced off into the Forest of Inuyasha. His forest. He knew that forest better than any human or youkai, and with his head start he should be able to lose the wolf.

Unbeknownst to both Inuyasha and Kagome, Kouga simply watched the hanyou carry away the miko. He was still trying to understand what had happened to the inukkoro; and as much as he wanted to continue the challenge for his mate, he figured it would be better to hold off the fight until he understood what he was up against.

~~~~

"Inuyasha! Why are you so worried about Kouga-kun? You know I don't return his feelings, stop being so immature about this!" Kagome demanded, exasperated with his actions. She knew he was still warring with his youkai blood inside, but she also knew he wouldn't hurt her. With this in mind, she beat lightly against his arms and back, silently commanding him to set her feet back on the ground and pay attention to her words.

The hanyou reluctantly slowed to a stop and then proceeded to push Kagome back off of his shoulder. Inuyasha almost had complete control of himself again, and felt it would be safe to face her. He held the girl at arms' length, keeping his hands on her upper arms. "This is anything but immature, Kagome. You can't keep leading him on like this," he stated, for the first time ever sounding completely serious and calm on the topic of the wolf prince. "I know you say again and again that you don't consider yourself to be his mate, but he thinks you are. And he'll continue to think this until someone else marks you."

Kagome stared up at Inuyasha, dumbfounded. He was being rational, and it scared her. Even more worrisome, he wasn't yelling at her over the subject but simply explaining the situation to her. "I-.. Inuyasha.." she choked out.. not sure how to respond. "I really.. don't think.. but.. Kouga-kun-"

"Oh, would you stop calling him Kouga-kun already! It only makes it worse!" he shouted suddenly, immediately looking apologetic at his outburst. His features abruptly shifted to a hurt expression, though. "How come you never call me Inuyasha-kun?"

Kagome was confused by the question. Hadn't she made it clear to him by now that he had her loyalty and friendship? Did he really need to hear the "kun" to know that? "Inuyasha, I don't understand. What-"

"He thinks it's a sign that you're waiting for him. You don't call anyone else that.. not me, or Miroku," Inuyasha answered, seemingly starting to calm down again. Kagome just remained silent, knowing there was something else he wanted to say. Subconsciously, she felt his grip on her arms tighten slightly, though not painfully. Strange, but it excited her, so did the look growing in his eyes. That same look of hunger and need she'd seen there once before by the Bone Eater's Well. "Kagome... I-.. He can't have you!" the hanyou growled all of a sudden, as if Kagome had any control over the situation.

And then she knew. She knew why he'd avoided her during her period all those weeks ago. She knew why he'd kissed her after the following battle. She knew why he'd begged her to return to Sengoku Jidai with him even in her injured state. She knew why he'd taken such thorough care of her while she'd been healing. She knew why it was so important to him that she stop Kouga from believing she was his woman. All the indications were there; she'd just never taken the time to see them before. Kagome suspected that Inuyasha himself was still struggling with the truth, but that didn't matter. The truth itself was all that mattered, and Kagome could feel her increasing arousal just at the thought of it.

That was the last straw. The youkai within Inuyasha snapped, demanding its release. It wanted the miko, and it wanted her now! Red bled into the hanyou's eyes so quickly it was eerie, leaving Kagome afraid and excited all at once. Inuyasha began a low growl as violet streaks ran down his cheeks and sharper claws pressed against the soft skin of the girl's arms within his tight grasp. Inuyasha pulled her body closer to his until they were mere breaths away from each other. "He never could have you, Kagome. He never had the chance. All along, I was the one who watched over you and protected you. You belong to me!" he snarled, revealing the newly lengthened fangs, just before he slammed her lips against his own.

When Kagome felt Inuyasha's lips push insistently against hers, she ignored his transformation to instead focus on all the previous fantasies she'd had about them together. A part of her still felt fear at what he might possibly do to her, but another part of her greedily drank in his rough passion, longing to discover if reality could live up to her imaginings. Her lips willingly opened, inviting Inuyasha's tongue inside. He moaned hungrily in pure animalistic fashion as he slipped inside to massage every soft part of her mouth, even going on to rub against her smooth teeth. His arms crushed her soft, pliant body against his own hard chest, but she couldn't stop her own hands from touching him. The girl placed her hands on his lower abs so that she could rub them up his chest and over his shoulders. Kagome loved the feel of his firm body under his clothes, yet her fingers itched to touch skin. Becoming bolder, Kagome pushed her tongue through and into his mouth to mimic everything he had been doing to her while her hands blindly searched for the break in Inuyasha's haori.

The youkai's ears pulled back in ecstasy when he felt her hands against his collarbone. He knew her planned destination was to reach his bare chest and was only too willing to help her get there. Carefully making sure not to force their mouths apart with the movement, Inuyasha reached down to untie the knot to his haori and roughing yanked the thing off along with his under shirt. A surprised groan of delight rumbled in Kagome's throat as her hands felt his chest, causing Inuyasha to growl back in response.

Now having the pleasure of touching skin, Kagome's fingers caressed up Inuyasha's back and over his shoulders once again. The heat from his body fascinated her, and vaguely she wondered if her body was just as hot as his. Inuyasha dragged in a deep breath of pleasure as Kagome's fingers splayed over his abs. Their feather light touch occasionally flitted near his hakama only to travel back up toward his chest, as if she were unsure of whether or not she should get too close to his pants. Even as her hands became more timid, her tongue was growing bolder and bolder, now aggressively mating with his own. Just as her fingertips brushed against the skin only an inch from the top line of his hakama, Inuyasha happily bore down on her tongue, sucking it hard to let Kagome know how much he liked her touch.

She thought she was going to die when she felt his lips close around her tongue. It so shocked her that her trembling hands grabbed onto the first thing they reached. Kagome ended up pulling against his pants for support, but just as suddenly Inuyasha leaned away from the kiss. His crimson eyes were full of lust and his smug lips curved into a smirk.

"No need to be impatient, mate. We'll get them off soon enough," he teased, noting with satisfaction the rise in her arousal and glazed look of passion in her chocolate eyes. Without warning, Inuyasha slashed his claws against her shirt, effectively destroying both her school top and her bra. She was given little enough time to ponder over how he'd managed this without once breaking her skin when he repeated the motion to divest her of her skirt and underwear. Kagome was so shocked over her sudden nudity that she never even saw him untie his hakama. One moment she was standing there, vulnerably shaking in front of the youkai, and the next he had her pinned to the ground -- skin against skin.

Kagome shuddered in pleasure at the contact, the sensations streaking through her body causing her to blissfully close her eyes in wonder. Inuyasha leaned forward and began to sensually lick her jaw line and neck. Occasionally, he would nip at her skin, never drawing blood, but oh how he wanted to. He longed to drink her coppery liquid as he pumped in and out of her. That would have to wait, he told himself, but not much longer now.

The youkai reached one hand down toward her opening and slowly rubbed against her trembling nerves there. Kagome gasped, looking at the eyes above her. It was all just as she'd dreamed, except that the amber was missing. She'd always dreamed this in amber. As much as her body screamed for the exquisite feelings to go on, her heart argued that it wasn't right. They weren't amber...

The time for stopping had passed though, as Inuyasha brought his moist hand away from her core. Once again smirking at her, he proceeded to lick and suck her juices from each finger. Then, in one fluid movement, he gave her a harsh closed mouth kiss and flipped her body over to lie on her stomach. His claws grabbed onto her shoulders, pulling her upper body back until she was left on her knees with her ass pressed tightly against his cock. After roughly spreading her legs on both sides of his own knees, Inuyasha leaned forward over her body. He set his weight on his arms, which were now placed just to the outside of both of Kagome's arms, and deeply breathed in the scent at her exposed neck. All at once, the youkai pushed through her virginity and clamped his fangs onto the top of the left side on her neck.

Kagome cried out in pleasure and pain. Her nerves screamed for everything to stop and continue all at once. She was vaguely aware of the sharp stab in her neck, but more important was the hardness pressing into her body from behind. While her insides were searing from the tear left in its in wake, instincts were telling her to push back. Not knowing what to do, but wanting only to make the pleasure cancel out the agony, the once pure miko rocked softly against the source of these confusing sensations.

Inuyasha released a feral growl in the back of his throat even as he drank the beautiful red lifeline of his mate. She tasted and felt better than he'd ever imagined she would, and he could hear her heart pounding with each swallow. When the girl hesitantly pressed herself farther onto his cock, he tore his mouth from her neck in a choked gasp. Tenderly licking her new wound clean, Inuyasha began rocking into his mate's body and she continued to push back. Each thrust was rougher than the last, owing to a growing sense of urgency in both Kagome and himself. In one of the last coherent thoughts the girl could focus on, she realized that she finally knew what the term "harder, faster" meant that she always heard other girls joking about. It pretty much summed up everything she was feeling right now. Following that thought, Kagome gave one more shove against Inuyasha before ecstasy erupted throughout her entire body with a shattering scream.

"Inuyasha!!"

Said youkai gave his own final thrust into the girl and released himself inside her welcoming body. Rather than shouting his surrender, he settled on a howl just before they both collapsed in a heap of satisfied exhaustion.

~~~~

*teme - crispy muffin asked about this for the last post; it translates as "you," but is used in a negative manner to mean an insult equivalent to "bitch" or "bastard."

*inukkoro - the ever famous name that Kouga gave Inuyasha in episode 36. I love that episode... *sigh* Anyway, onto the point, the show generally translates it as "dog-face" or "dog turd." I think "dog-face" is my favorite.

*kaze ookami - and this is the ever famous name that Inuyasha gave Kouga, also in episode 36 (again, a moment to reflect on how wonderful that episode is...). This is usually translated as "wimpy wolf." Excepting for the fact that this doesn't follow true in the original Japanese, I was always rather impressed at Inuyasha's alliteration abilities. Heh.

I think I only used other terms that are pretty commonly known, but if there is anything in here you don't know, don't hesitate to ask!

- BurningBritelyOne