InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ Bonded ( Chapter 7 )

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

Chapter 7: Bonded

A/N: italicized=Kagome's thoughts; italicized in parenthesis=Inuyasha's thoughts as he's speaking to her inside their minds.

---sSs---

Kagome came back to herself, still kneeling before Inuyasha, their hands still pressed firmly over each others hearts. She could feel on odd thrumming throughout her body, and a strange warmth inside her mind. She focused her eyes on Inuyasha, and nearly fell over. Pink light danced along his body, and she knew it was her Miko powers, but it didn't appear to be hurting him in the least.

Looking down at herself, she saw red lashes of youki shimmering over her own body, yet, as was apparently the case with Inuyasha, there was no pain. As she watched in awe, wondering what was happening, she noticed the power currents beginning to combine, raising her hand in front of her, she marveled at the feel of it, and then she noticed something else.

Where Inuyasha's hand rested against her chest, she felt a tingle in her skin, as if her skin had become highly sensitized to his touch.

It made her burn for more, raising her eyes to his, she watched as the same things occurred to him, wait, how do I know what he's thinking?! And... I can feel what he's feeling. Oh my goodness, does he really want me that much? I had no idea!!

And then she nearly fell over when anothers thoughts answered her own...

'Kagome'

It was Inuyasha, speaking inside her mind as their combined auras swirled around them.

'I've always wanted you. You have no idea how much, for years now. Didn't you ever wonder why, at certain times, I avoided you, tried to keep as much distance between us as possible? Because I could tell by your scent when you were in fertile, and it drove me insane. It was all I could do not to take you, and I wouldn't have cared who was around.'

Her face heated up again, but she couldn't look away from Inuyasha's eyes. She was mesmerized, she could see - and feel, the want in him, the love, and the fear that he had had to bear for so long, afraid that she would never return those feelings.

She let her love and wanting well up inside her and wash over both of them, trying to soothe him, instinctively knowing how to use the link between them to heal his hurt. He gazed back at her, letting his own emotions wash over her, as their souls blended and held; becoming one unbreakable being in that instant.

Inuyasha watched Kagome as she took in all that was happening, paying close attention to her emotions. She wasn't upset with anything that had happened, just astonished. As their auras finally started to fade, he let go of her hand and picked up her shirt.

"Here, put this back on, koi, you're getting cold." He smiled at her surprise, knowing it was because of the word koi - but she was, and soon she would know it, and she would never have to question his loyalty or his love for her. He smiled even wider...and I'll never question her love for me, either...Kami, I can feel it, so strong, pouring from her soul. She loves me!

"Kagome?" he said softly.

"Just a moment ago... I thought, I know I heard your thoughts." She tilted her head and looked at him. "Was that only for that moment, or......?"

Inuyasha sighed. 'No, we can do that anytime we want,' she heard inside her mind. 'Most of the time, the link will feel like a soothing glow in the back of your mind... when we want to speak this way, or even feel each others emotions, however, the link will automatically deepen.'

He reached out a hand to grab his clothes. Out loud, he said, "This link will always be there. Nothing can erase it... and did you notice," his eyebrow raised and he tilted his head toward the hand that had touched his heart, "the mark on your hand? It's permanent, as is mine. It's a public affirmation of our bond."

Kagome stared at her hand with wonder. On the back of her hand, there was a full color mark, almost like a tattoo. It was a circle, in the purple color of his cheek stripes, with the characters for his name on the inside edge. She raised eyes wide with wonder to look at him, then grabbed his hand and looked. It was the same, except it was her name on the inside edge.

"So this is like a wedding ring! I see."

He frowned. "What's a 'wedding ring'?"

She smiled at him. "Well you know what a wedding is, right? It's the human ceremony for marriage, or mating, as you call it." Inuyasha nodded. "Well, in my time, during the ceremony, rings, usually made of gold, are exchanged by the bride and groom and worn on the third finger of the left hand, as a way of showing that they are now taken."

Inuyasha nodded, and scratched the back of his head as he thought about it. "Yeah, well I guess that's about right, it's kind of the same idea only, a ring can be taken off, this mark never can be."

They gazed at each in silence, still trying to deal with the wonder of it all, until Inuyasha leaned forward, and pulling her back into his lap, settled his lips over hers in a soft caress. He didn't try to deepen the kiss, just ran his mouth softly over hers, tenderly acting on his love for her. As he pulled back, he noted her flushed cheeks and the softness in her eyes, and he could feel her joy shimmering through the link.

Suddenly, he jumped to his feet, still holding her in his arms, and setting her behind him, he whirled to face the front of the cave... and stopped in wonder, when he saw just who stood there.

Father? Cautiously, he stepped forward, still sheltering his new mate behind him. He sent his youki out, searching out any familiarity in the stranger's aura.

"Inuyasha." The man stepped forward, out of the overpowering sunlight at the front of the cave, and Inuyasha found himself staring into the eyes of the youkai who had sired him. His father stepped forward once again, and Inuyasha growled low in his throat - father or not, he was way too close to his mate, and Inuyasha wasn't sure of his motives.

The Inu no Taisho stopped and looked at his son with amusement. "Well, pup, and will you growl at your father? For what reason?"

"You're too close to my mate. I don't know what you're after, but I won't tolerate any threat to her," he growled, his youki flaring wildly.

"Be still, my son. You should have known that the taking of a mate is a serious thing and must be approved by the Inu no Taisho. Since your brother," with a wry glance at Kagome, "the current Ino no Taisho, is, to put it mildly, making an ass of himself," he smiled at Kagome's giggle, and Inuyasha's snort, "your bond called to me instead." He looked at Kagome. "Step forward, child, let me look at you," he said.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, silently asking for his approval, and this did not go unnoticed by his father. When Inuyasha cautiously nodded, she squared her shoulders proudly, and stepped out from behind her mate. "My name is Kagome, and I am pleased to finally meet you, my Lord," she said, bowing formally.

The Inu no Taisho inclined his head to her, silently measuring her, watching her stand proudly before him. "Lady Kagome. I welcome you to the house of the West. You have chosen well, Inuyasha. A word of warning, however... there is danger ahead for you both." He looked over at Inuyasha. "Protect her, my son, and keep your honor and hers. It is well." He smiled at them both as he began to fade away.

"Father!" Inuyasha lunged forward, calling out, "Father, wait! Do you ever see... mother," he asked hesitantly.

Faintly now, his voice came back to them. "Yes, she is my mate after all, what would you say to her?"

"Tell her I miss her," he called.

"I will. Goodbye, my son."

Kagome stared at the empty cave opening in front of her. "Well, that was certainly strange. What's next?" She turned and stared at her mate. "Inuyasha... why did he call me Lady? I know some call me that because I'm a Miko. But I got the sense from your father that he did it for a whole different reason."

Inuyasha tore his gaze away from the cave opening, and looked at Kagome.

"Yeah... have you ever noticed that Myoga calls me Master, or Lord Inuyasha? My father was the Inu no Taisho, and my older brother is the current leader of the clan, and Lord of the West. Younger brother and half breed or not, I'm still considered a Lord in the clan." At her wide-eyed stare, he chuckled.

"I even have my own crest, and lands. Did you think they called it "Inuyasha's Forest" for nothing?" He broke into outright laughter at the stunned look on her face. "Sooner or later, we will have to travel to Sesshoumaru's Castle and present you to the clan. You had better get used to the "Lady" thing."

"Inuyasha! How could you never have told me? Oh man, I don't know if I can process all this," she wailed, holding her head in her hands.

"Calm down, Kagome," he said, still chuckling. "You don't have to deal with any of that for a while yet, and if you feel nervous, think about me. I have to face down your mother...." he shuddered.

Kagome smirked. "Yeah, I guess your right, my mom is much worse than Sesshoumaru any day, geez, Inuyasha, how are you ever gonna survive?" She thought about it for a moment.

"You're not in any danger, you know. Mom's known for years how I feel about you, and she is very fond of you herself. She'll be pleased that we've finally gotten around to this, she knew that we would never have a traditional wedding anyway, since you aren't from my time."

"Your mom has known all this time?" He gave her a disgruntled look. "Was I the last to know or something? Sheesh," he grumped. "All this time, don't tell me Sango and Miroku knew? And probably Shippo too, right? Damn! Now I feel stupid," he said, as she dissolved in giggles.

"Well, you are kinda dense sometimes, Inuyasha, but I love you anyway," laughing even harder at his fake glare. "Oh come on, stop whining and lets go, we should be getting back to the others, and anyway, I'm really hungry! I feel like I haven't eaten for a week!"

Inuyasha glared at her for real. "You practically haven't, wench, you've been too busy moping. And that had better stop, too." He bent slightly and presented his back to her. "Well, get on and lets go then, wouldn't want to starve you, there ain't that much of you to begin with!"

Kagome reached out and touched his shoulder tentatively, wondering if the tingling in her skin from before would hit her - and it did. She bit her lip. Oh boy, if it feels this good just touching his shoulder, what am I gonna feel when I'm pressed up against him?

Clenching her jaw, she climbed on, and gasped at the heat that rushed through her body. She could feel Inuyasha flinch as well. "Ummmm, maybe I should just walk," she mumbled.

Inuyasha groaned. This was gonna be so hard, no pun intended, but they had to get used to it, there were just times they had to move quickly, and they couldn't afford to be worrying about getting all hot and bothered. "No, get on, Kagome. We have to get used to this." He took off, leaping into the trees and searching for the scent of their friends. "Maybe once we have, umm-- " this is awkward "--finished mating this feeling will tone down."
Maybe, but damn, this feels way too good. "Uhhhh, Inuyasha?" She gulped. I really need to ask this question. "What about, well, you know, children," she finally got out.

Inuyasha almost lost his footing. Pups? Kami! The wench knows just what to say, as his mind suddenly flooded with images of making said pups. Damn! He groaned.

"Sure. I'd like to have pups, but shouldn't we wait 'til we've taken care of Naraku?"

Kagome smiled into his shoulder. Pups? I should have known, he IS a dog demon, after all. She giggled.

"Yeah, I agree, but what do we do about that? Do you mean to wait to... ummm... be with me until we've defeated him?"

"What?? Are you out of your mind??" Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at her, totally incredulous that she would even think he was willing to wait longer than the next day or two. "I've waited for you for years, woman, I'm not waiting any longer than absolutely necessary. Fair warning... be prepared, 'cause I'm not waiting very long at all."

Kagome blushed under the warm appraisal in his eyes. "Well then, the question still stands. How do we avoid having children too soon? In my time we have ways to stop that, but we would have to wait 'til I can get to a doctor," she broke off as he started shaking his head.

"I can control that, Kagome. I won't pup you 'til we're ready, I can guarantee that." He smirked. "We can sure have fun practicing, though!"

Oh, man... I know my face is as red as a cherry now.

She lifted her head off his shoulder, watching the trees fly by. Despite her embarrassment, she felt more at peace than she had for a long while. She could feel Inuyasha's presence in her mind, a warm, soothing glow, making her feel safe and loved.

The afternoon sunlight glinted off the leaves of the trees, and from the height they were at she could see for miles. It's beautiful country... so different from my era. No smog or pollution... the warmth of the sunlight on her back, and the even greater warmth of Inuyasha's back pressed against her front, soon had her dozing off.

Inuyasha smiled to himself as he felt her fall asleep. She needs it since she hasn't been sleeping well. Now though, I can do something about that. No more nightmares and broken sleep, my koishii. I won't let even your dreams harm you.

His mind turned to other matters, as she was sleeping peacefully, he had no need to worry for now.

We should head back to Keade's, we can leave Shippo and the others there and take a day or two to go back and see Kagome's family. Her mother has the right to know. I hope Kagome's right that she'll be pleased; but if she's not, she'd better not try to separate us. I'll never allow it. Not ever.

He shook his head, then. He doubted her mother would actually try that, even if she wasn't overly thrilled, she wasn't that type of person.

He broke out of his reverie as he caught the smell of his pack, they'd found a good place to make camp, a rock face at their back, surrounded by trees, and a stream for fresh water to the side. He leaped to the ground, landing softly enough not to wake Kagome.

Shippo caught sight of them first. "Kagomeee!" The kit leaped at Inuyasha, landing on his shoulder. "Kagome, are you okay, huh, huh, huh?"

"Damn! Shippo, she was sleeping!" He knocked the kit over the head, then grabbed him and tossed him to Miroku, who had moved forward to greet them.

"Here, Miroku, take the damn brat and do something with him... Shippo, you gotta stop pouncing on her. Your getting bigger and one of these days you could hurt her!"

Shippo wailed at being tossed away from Kagome. As Miroku got closer to her, though, he squeaked, and jumping onto Miroku's shoulder, he grabbed at Kagome's hand.

"Inuyasha! You took Kagome as your mate, didn't you?"

Inuyasha glared at Shippo in the dead silence that fell over the camp. Miroku stopped dead, jaw hanging open, and Sango stopped, half bent over the fire she had just gotten started. Even Kirara was staring at them. Kagome chose that moment to wake, yawning widely and then noticing that everyone was staring at them, and that it was totally silent.

"What's everyone staring at?" Kagome yawned again, patting her mouth.

"Ummm, Kagome," Sango said, "Shippo just pointed out the mate mark on your hand."

"Oh." Kagome slid down from Inuyasha's back and stepped over to her things, which were sitting near the fire, and dug out some ramen. "Okay. Well, he can explain it to you, I'm gonna eat. I'm starving!"

Everyone was still staring, first at her, then at Inuyasha. "What?! Geez - you'd think that none of you had ever seen a mate mark before," he said, glaring at everyone. "Anyone got any complaints?" he asked, growling deep in his chest.

The others all looked at each other and started waving their hands. "Nope, not at all Inuyasha, honest! We were just surprised, is all," Sango said, looking at the others as they nodded in agreement. "I mean, we've all known for years how Kagome feels about you, but..."

"Feh," he said with disgust, turning his back to everyone and jumping up into the tree behind Kagome, settling into a branch right above her. "I guess I was the last to know."

Miroku chuckled. "Well, Inuyasha, you just weren't paying attention. Why else did you think Kagome would get so upset about Kikyou?"

"Actually, Inuyasha isn't the last to know," said Shippo, grinning. "Koga will be. He's so dumb and arrogant he never picked up on Kagome's feelings, so he's about to get the shock of his life!"

Inuyasha felt himself begin to grin as Shippo spoke. "Shippo, just for that, I'm gonna make sure that when I take Kagome home to tell her mother, she brings you back a lot of your favorite candy. You just made my year! I am so gonna enjoy the look on that fleabag's face when he finds out!" Inuyasha chortled, rubbing his hands together with glee.

Sango looked at Miroku helplessly as Shippo danced around her legs. Then they both broke out in laughter, laughing until tears ran down their faces. Kagome just shook her head and started eating.