InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ Homeward Bound ( Chapter 8 )

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

Chapter 8: Homeward Bound

Fucking figures! Trust Naraku to show up and screw all my plans.

Inuyasha jumped to the side as another one of his god-forsaken tentacles tried to impale him. Swinging the Tetsusaiga in a wide arc, he watched as spears of adamant flung themselves at the half-demon crouching in front of him.

The spears sparkled and glowed in the light, he idly wondered how anything so deadly, could be so beautiful as he waited to see if they would hit. Suddenly, Kagome stepped up beside him, an arrow already nocked, and let fly. He normally didn't pay much attention to Kagome's arrows anymore, he'd seen her shoot them many times, after all.

But this time, he was taken aback: the aura surrounding her arrow was so much more, the light filled the sky as it only seemed to increase in power as it closed with Naraku. That bastard saw it coming and tried to throw up a barrier, but the arrow pierced it as if it was nothing and, reaching its target - just exploded.

If Naraku hadn't already hidden his heart, he would have been destroyed right then and there, and in the sudden silence, he realized that he wasn't the only one that had noticed Kagome's increase in power. No one paid any attention to the pieces of the spider hanyou as he enclosed himself in a barrier and took off - they were too busy staring at the miko.

"Um, Kagome?" It was Sango who finally had the courage to speak up. "When did your, um, powers increase so much?"

Inuyasha looked hard at her, waiting for her answer. He recalled his thoughts of a few minutes ago on beauty and deadliness.

Yup... she certainly is beautiful, and even more deadly then we ever thought.

Kagome looked at her friends and sighed. She had known that sooner or later this was going to come out in the open.

"It's called training. Kaede has given me exercises that can unlock and deepen my powers. It's no big deal, okay? I'm not more powerful, I'm just tapping power that was already there. Now, can we get off this field and find a place to camp?"

"I guess that makes sense Kagome," said Miroku, nodding his head to the others and gesturing for them to precede him off the field. "We could use the rest, it's been a long day."

It didn't take long to move off the plain and find a good campsite back in the edges of the forest, and it even had a hot spring.

In fact, Kagome mused, this place looks kind of familiar....have we been here before? And then she remembered. It was the same hot spring that they had been at when Jaken had tried to steal the Tessaiga.

If I remember rightly, Jaken created this hot spring. Well, at least that toad did something good... and then she blushed. Oh wow - how could I have forgotten what else happened here? Kagome almost jumped out of her skin when Inuyasha's amused thoughts broke into her own.

'Keh, wench, remembering your first view of my body are ya? Hm, and getting a little overheated, too, I see.'

Kagome whirled around to glare at her mate, before realizing that everyone was staring at her, and could clearly see her extremely red face. "Inuyasha! Stay out of my head already! I didn't say you could come in, its rude to eavesdrop!"

Miroku gave a sly chuckle, looking back and forth between the two. "Soo, Kagome... what's Inuyasha thinking that's got you so worked up, hmm?"

Inuyasha smirked over at Miroku. "It ain't what I was thinkin', Miroku, you should be askin' what Kagome was thinkin'!"

Sango stared at her best friend and sister as if she'd never seen her before. "Kagome! What on earth!?"

Kagome stared hard at everyone, noticing that Shippo was about to jump in on the conversation, and she started growling at them all. "All of you, just stop! And damnit, Inuyasha, if you keep that up I swear I will block that link!"

She wasn't prepared for him to swoop down on her, grabbing her up into his arms and clinging to her with desperation. She could feel the anguish in him.

What the hell?

'Don't ever threaten that, Kagome... not ever! Do you know how badly that would hurt the both of us?'

She threw her arms around him and hugged with all her strength. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, I'm sorry. I didn't know, I wouldn't really block you. I just said that 'cause I was mad about being embarrassed."

He sighed with relief. "I shouldn't have said what I did, either, this link between us is private, after all. I won't do that again, unless it's okay with you."

He bent his head and kissed her, and Kagome felt like she was drowning in the emotions coming through the link. Relief, desire, love, Wow, and fear? She hugged him even tighter and flooded the link with calming thoughts, and love, trying to soothe him back to his usual self.

The sound of a throat clearing had both of them stepping back from each other, although Inuyasha kept hold of her hand, and refused to let go. Miroku glanced at Sango and then back to Inuyasha, and chuckled.

"Well. You're being much more... openly affectionate, I'm glad to see. She deserves it, you know."

Inuyasha tightened his fingers around Kagome's hand for a moment and then let go. "Feh, whatever. Are you guys gonna sit there and stare and snicker every time we act 'affectionate'?"

"No, its just odd, that's all. You're usually such an ass, Inuyasha," Shippo said, flinching when Inuyasha thumped him.

"Shippo! You'd better stop talking like Inuyasha right now! I can't believe you said that! Don't let me catch you talking like that again, do you understand, young man?" Kagome asked, looking highly upset.

Sango just shook her head. "I'm going to go sit in the hot spring for a while, are you going to come, Kagome?"

"Sure, Sango, let me grab my things. The thought of hot water, mmm."

'Damn it, why can't I go with you to the hot spring, I'm your mate after all!'

Kagome gasped and blushed. Inuyasha! She looked over to see him sulking.

'What? We haven't had any time alone since we bonded - and I really want some alone time, Kagome.' He was looking at her with those puppy eyes of his, making her heart rate speed up, since she knew what he wanted to be alone for.

'Fine,' He sighed finally seeing that it wasn't going to work. 'Go take your soak.' Inuyasha gave her an irritated look, then promptly threw himself down under a tree and closed his eyes.

Miroku smirked at Sango. "Why don't I join you ladies in the hot spring, the more the merrier, right?"

Sango smacked him in the back of the head - and nearly got knocked over by Inuyasha, who lunged up from his spot under the tree and grabbed Miroku by his robes.

"Don't you even think about it, you damn monk - no one goes anywhere near Kagome but me, got that? I'd hate to have to kill you, " he growled.

"I warned you way back when we first met that Kagome was off limits, and she's even more off limits now. Just ask Sango if you don't believe me, monk... youkai in general are very protective of their mates, and Inu-youkai are absolutely passionate about not letting any other males touch - or see - their mate. It's compulsive and instinctive, I'd be attacking before I even had a chance to think about it."

Kagome was stunned. She could feel the urge to protect her running through Inuyasha's body, and the possessiveness - it was almost blanking out his mind.

Wow.

Sango nodded at Miroku. "He's right, Miroku. Even though Inuyasha is Inu hanyou, he still has all the same instincts as a full-blood Inu. You're going to have to stop the flirting unless you want to end up dead."

Miroku just gulped and nodded.

Inuyasha looked at Sango. "Unless you want to be sitting here with the lecher, while I go with my mate to the springs, you'd better get going."

"Let's go, Kagome! I really don't want to wait to hit all that lovely hot water!"

With a laugh, the two young women ran off in the direction of the spring, Kagome looking back at Inuyasha once, smiling at him, before they disappeared under the trees.

Inuyasha sighed as he went back to the tree and sat down. Man... what's a guy gotta do to get some time alone with his own mate?

Kagome sighed as she sank down into the hot water. Tilting her head up, she smiled at the sky. It's so lovely. I never knew how many stars you could see in the sky, without all the light pollution in the future.

'Keh, silly wench. I told you my time was better.'

Kagome could hear his smirk in his thoughts, and she silently laughed at him. Yeah, but your time didn't come up with ramen, now did it? That came from my time. Or what used to be my time, anyway.

'Yeah, yeah, koi, rub it in. I have to admit, I love the ramen.' She was pulled from her, err, their thoughts, oh man this is gonna take some getting used to, by Sango's voice.

"Hey, Kagome, do you mind if I ask you a question? I mean, you don't have to answer or anything, I'm just curious, is all."

"What is it, Sango?" Kagome turned to face her friend. "I'm not going to bite your head off," she giggled, "so ask already!"

Sango grinned. "What's it like? I mean, the whole youkai bonding thing? I've never known anyone bonded to a hanyou before, let alone a youkai, so I'm curious."

Kagome smiled and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "It's... different. The bonding itself is pretty intense. I can feel Inuyasha's presence in my mind at all times, it's like a soothing heat, or maybe a glow. Then, when we want to talk privately, or just show our affections privately, the link deepens and we're inside each others minds. It's a little strange at first but, already, I think I would lose my mind if he wasn't there all of a sudden."

She looked back up and sighed, then grinned at Sango. "After the bond was completed, you'll never guess what happened. Do you remember what happened after Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru finally defeated Sou'unga? How their father's spirit showed up? Well, he did it again." At Sango's gasp of surprise, she nodded. "Yup. Pretty much sums up how I felt."

"But, what did he want?"

"He said that bondings had to be approved by the Inu no Taisho... and since, he said, and I quote, 'The current Inu no Taisho is making an ass of himself'," Kagome grinned, "he told us that our bond had called out to him for approval instead."

Sango's eyes were huge. "What did he say?"

"He stared at me for a while, and boy, was that fun," she rolled her eyes, "and then proceeded to 'approve' of me, welcoming me to the house of the West, and he called me Lady Kagome." Her eyes narrowed. "Which reminds me. I need to get Inuyasha back for that part of all this."

Sango looked confused. "Huh?

Kagome looked at her friend. "Have you ever noticed how Myoga calls him Master or Lord Inuyasha?"

Sango nodded slowly - still looking confused.

"It's because he is a Lord. The baka even has his own crest and lands. Plus, sooner or later here, he's gonna drag me off to Sesshoumaru's shiro to present me to the clan." Kagome was starting to get a little annoyed as she thought of how she'd been blindsided.

"What?" Sango looked floored. "You mean, all this time, we've been traveling with a Lord and he never thought to mention it? Why I oughta...!"

"Yeah. That's pretty much my reaction."

Sango shook her head, still surprised, but the reaction wearing off fast as she relaxed in the hot water. "Well... anyway, we can worry about all that later."

Kagome nodded. But, Inuyasha, dear, don't think I won't get back to this subject - soon.

Back at the campsite, Inuyasha suddenly winced. Oh, man. "In case anyone cares, I'm goin' to bed now," he said, slouching off to find a tree limb above Kagome's sleeping bag, a very sulky look on his face.

Miroku looked at him in puzzlement. What just happened?

---sSs---

The rest of the trip back to Kaede's village was peaceful and uneventful, and they made good time. Arriving back in the village, they immediately headed to Kaede's hut, it was the closest thing to a home any of them had at this point.

Kagome looked around, idly thinking what a beautiful day it was, all greens and golds, soft diffused sunlight glinting off everything. The temperature was perfect, not too cold and not too hot, all in all, this was a day meant to be enjoyed, a soft breeze sweeping the scent of the forest ahead right to her nose. "Inuyasha?" Kagome padded forward to catch up with her mate.

"Hm?"

Kagome smiled slightly, it looked like he was enjoying this day as much a she was. "I'm going to start towards the well, once you've finished talking to Kaede, you can meet me there, okay?"

He looked like he was about to object, but then smiled at her and nodded. "Alright, wench. I'll meet you there in a few minutes," he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it softly.

"Shippo, love, I promise to bring you back some goodies, as long as you behave for Sango, okay? Hop on over to Kirara, sweetie, and I'll see you later." Kagome hugged her little kit before he jumped down.

"Okay, Kagome," he said, smiling widely, "I promise to be extra good! Bye!"

She watched, smiling softly, then turned and headed off for the well, waving at Sango and Miroku as she walked away.

What a beautiful day. I feel so peaceful today, like I haven't in such a long time.

She stopped when she got to the rise above the village, lifting her head into the breeze that struck her at just that instant, letting her hair stream gently behind her. She took a deep breath, smelling the rich scents of the earth around her, pleasure flooding through her veins.

Down in the village, Inuyasha looked up towards her, feeling the pleasure flooding Kagome's body, and caught his breath at the beautiful picture she made. Kami, I love her...

Shaking his head, he entered the hut with the others close behind. "Oi, Kaede, Kagome and I are going through the well. We'll be back later, in the meantime, Miroku and Sango can fill you in on what's been going on." Not waiting for an answer, he went right back out of the hut, eager to get back to his mate.

Kaede just raised her eyebrow and smiled at his impatience. "That Inuyasha. He never changes."

Inuyasha took off at a sprint, heading towards the well, smiling with the peaceful feelings coming through the link. His mate was happy, and that made everything in his world good.

Although I'm still nervous about sitting down with her mother, Kami only knows how she'll react. I hope Kagome's right about her being happy for us.

Slowing down, he finally came to a stop at the clearing around the well, he smiled as Kagome turned towards him. Walking forward, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his arms. "Well, wench? Are you ready to face your mother?" he asked softly.

She laughed. "Nervous? You shouldn't be, you know. Mom loves you, and she'll be excited by our news." She rolled her eyes. "In fact, knowing Mom, she'll rent us a hotel room, shove us inside, and lock us in, so we can get a start on making her some grandchildren." Kagome blushed a deep, deep red when Inuyasha laughed at her.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" he asked, with a raised brow. "Let's go, wench. I like the idea of being locked in a room with you," he leered, grinning as her face managed to get even redder.

And turning to tuck her into his side, he leapt into the well, still chuckling at the look on her face.