InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strength ❯ Promise ( Chapter 9 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: inufan625 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.03.2014 | Updated On: 11.06.2014 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 1.5K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.03.2014 | Updated On: 11.06.2014 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 1.5K | Status: Work In Progress
Kagome woke to warm hands caressing her back. She sighed contentedly and smiled as she thought about how this was only the first of what was sure to be many mornings waking up beside InuYasha, wrapped in his arms.
“Morning,” she murmured as she placed a soft kiss against his chest.
His replied was a muffled ‘keh’ as he nuzzled her neck.
She gasped as his fangs scraped lightly against her skin. “I don’t want to, but we should probably get up before my family gets home.”
InuYasha lifted his head, his expression was carefully blank. “You don’t want them to know.”
Kagome smiled at him. “Idiot. They already know. I just don’t think someone walking in on us would make anyone very happy. I mean do you really want jii-chan coming at you with his sutra while you’re naked? What if one actually works for a change?”
His cheeks reddened and he snorted, but didn’t disagree - even if he was more worried about Kagome’s mother catching him with his pants down than he was that her grandfather’s sutra were going to suddenly start working.
After all, Kagome had to get that temper of hers from somewhere.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later that she actually managed to get out of bed, but when she finally did InuYasha was surprised by how acutely that he felt her loss. Something stirred inside her him and compelled him to get up and follow her as she left the room. Kagome gave him a curious look as he shadowed her around the room, but said nothing, even ignoring his near constant touches.
He didn’t know what was wrong with him. If anything he should have felt more secure than ever about things between him and Kagome, but instead the youkai in him was a fucking mess. He had never felt quite like this before, and it was more than a little unsettling. He picked up his sword and secured it at his hip, hoping that it would quiet his youkai, but for the first time it didn’t help at all. He followed Kagome to the bathroom walking closely enough behind her that they were actually touching.
She stopped outside the door and turned around, placing a gentle hand on his chest. “Um, I need to… You know, so um, can you wait here just for a minute.”
He knew what she was telling him, and he knew it was a reasonable request. Even with someone you love and even after you had shared something so personal, there were still some things you’d rather have privacy for. He knew all that, but it was still literally painful for him to nod and then not to follow her despite her request. When she came out, he grabbed her and pulled her against him, breathing deeply against her neck. It was an impulse that he hadn’t been able to resist. She gasped but then giggled, and he was relieved that she wasn’t upset with him.
She leaned back and smiled. “How about I go make us some breakfast?”
He nodded and forced himself to release her. His stomach churned as she stepped away from him, and he wasn’t even sure that he would be able to eat. Something was definitely wrong. His knuckles turned white as he gripped Tetsusaiga’s hilt and headed for the kitchen.
Even as she cooked he couldn’t seem to make himself stop touching her. His only consolation was that she didn’t seem to mind, at least not yet.
It was only when she turned and bumped into him for the third time that she finally said, “Hey, are you all right?”
He felt his face heat at her obvious concern but he couldn’t bring himself to confide in her. “Keh,” he muttered dismissively.
Kagome chewed her lower lip and her eyes grew damp, and he realized that she had misunderstood his dismissal. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t… Please don’t be upset. I just… I never expected you to be like this. Don’t get me wrong. I love that you know that it’s okay, that I want you to touch me and be affectionate towards me. I just didn’t…I expected things to be different, just not this different. Do you understand? So if there really is nothing wrong then just forget I said anything, okay?”
“Damn it,” he growled as he wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t help it. It’s like I have to be touching you or it starts to feel like I am going to lose control of my youkai. It’s never been like this before.”
Kagome closed her eyes and leaned into him, his obvious distress calling out to her for reassurance. She took a deep breath and then suggested the only thing that she could think of to help him. “Maybe you should call Sesshomaru. I know you probably don’t want to, but he might be able to tell us what is wrong.”
InuYasha knew she was right. He knew it, and still he was dreading having to make that call and try and explain to his brother what was going on. As it was, he was only just coming around to the idea of having a brother who didn’t think he was a blight on his family’s honor.
“I could call for you,” Kagome offered tentatively.
InuYasha shook his head. What kind of man, of mate would be if he put that responsibility on her. “Nah, I’ll do it. I don’t fucking want to, but you’re right.”
He forced himself away from her, giving her cheek a last, light caress to dispel the look of concern on her face. With a last look, Kagome turned and began to plate their breakfast, while InuYasha went to use the phone.
The number Sesshomaru had given him was pinned on a board next to the handset. As he dialed he tried to block out the voice of his youkai as it raged inside him. Kagome wasn’t more than five steps away for fuck’s sake. It was ridiculous.
“Hello.”
InuYasha recognized his brother’s voice, but the problem was that he wasn’t entirely sure what to say. A frustrated growl escaped him.
“InuYasha, was there are reason for this call or are you simply trying to annoy me?” Sesshomaru asked.
“Something’s wrong with me,” InuYasha replied. “My youkai is a fucking mess and won’t settle, even when I am holding Tetsusaiga.”
“I will be there as soon as I am able.”
InuYasha placed the phone back in its cradle and joined Kagome at the table to eat. As he sat beside her, she took his hand and placed it on her leg before starting to eat. He was grateful for the contact as the demon inside him quieted at last.
When they were finished, Kagome began to clear the table. She hated to leave him when he was clearly so upset but there were a few things she needed desperately. “Do you think you’ll be okay if I make a quick trip to the store? I shouldn’t be gone more than 15 minutes.”
Every single part of him wanted to grab and hold her and never let go at the thought of her leaving, even for such a short time, but he refused to give in to whatever it was that was causing him to feel this way. “Keh, I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re sure,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around her. “Just don’t take too long.”
~*~
Kagome got the distinct feeling that someone was following her as she selected the items she needed from the small market. She had already gathered the items for dinner as well as a few toiletries. All that was left to gather was the real reason for her emergency trip to the store, a box of condoms. She wanted children, more specifically InuYasha’s children, but not quite yet.
She knew it was silly but she felt a rush of heat in her cheeks as she picked up the box and placed in the basket hanging from her arm.
“I’ve never seen a whore blush before.”
Kagome spun around at the voice and found a youkai, who even in terms of their ageless beauty, appeared to be very young. He had caught her completely off guard and because of that her heart was racing. She took a deep breath and willed it to slow.
His magenta eyes were filled with malice. “And here I though the half dog was supposed to ‘love’ his ‘miko’. But to let you out of the house smelling like that, unclaimed… you must be more expendable than we thought. Probably wouldn’t even be worth trying to kidnap.”
“Try it, if you think you can,” she said fiercly.
“So the whore has spirit,” the demon laughed. “Might be worth taking you after all. You might be fun to play with.” He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. “Wanna play, whore?”
As his hand extended towards her, she let the warmth of her power fill her. Just before his hand made contact with her skin, her power flared and shocked him. The burns on his fingers smoked ever so slightly, and he cursed drawing back several paces.
“I would leave if I were you,” Kagome said casually as she headed for the counter to make her purchases. “Oh, and if you call me a whore one more time, I won’t give you that chance.”
She managed to keep her hands from shaking as she handed her money to the store clerk. She wasn’t entirely sure her courage was going to hold for much longer. Thankfully, when she turned to leave the youkai was gone. She grabbed her bags and hurried back to the shrine. The entire way home she made sure to keep sensing for any unfamiliar youki nearby.
As soon as she crested the shrine steps, InuYasha was there, taking her in his arms. She could feel him trembling against her and decided to wait to tell him what had happened at the store until after he was a bit more himself.
“Sesshomaru, not here yet?” she asked as he escorted her into the house, one arm around her waist, the other carrying her bags.
“Not yet,” he replied. “I wish the bastard would hurry up already.”
As she put the groceries away, InuYasha stood behind her, his hands around her waist, moving with her as she reached from the counter to the refrigerator. She didn’t want to ask him to step back, no matter how restricting it was because her trip to the store had obviously been much more difficult for him to endure than she had intended.
“I’m sorry,” he admitted quietly. “I can’t…”
She turned in his arms. “Don’t apologize. We’ll figure this out and until then I have an excuse to stay the one place that I always feel the safest; right here in your arms.”
They went into the living room and sat down on the sofa, Kagome sitting comfortably across, InuYasha’s lap. She rested her head against his chest and she could almost feel his youki purring in contentment. Now that he was more at ease, she decided it was time to tell him about the demon that had approached her at the store.
“While I was shopping a youkai showed up,” she said as she lifted her head and looked up at him. “He said some things I didn’t really understand and talked about kidnapping me.”
InuYasha stiffened. “You should have told me as soon as you got back so I could’ve hunted that bastard down and killed him.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” she replied. “When he tried to touch me he got shocked by my spiritual powers and that seemed to have scared him off. I don’t think he expected it.”
InuYasha snorted. “You should have done more than shock him. So what else did he say that you didn’t understand?”
“Well, he said he couldn’t believe you let me out of the house smelling like I did or something.” Kagome sighed. “The things he said implied that whatever he smelled made it seem like I wasn’t important to you, that I was your whore and nothing more.”
“And it is no wonder he did,” Sesshomaru said a she entered the room. His tone was icy and Kagome could feel the fury radiating off of him. “Of all the idiotic things to have done. Have you no sense, no respect for your miko?”
InuYasha came to his feet, careful to place himself between Kagome and his brother. “Now wait just a damn minute! What’s between Kagome and me ain’t none of your fucking business and besides it ain’t like that.”
Sesshomaru grabbed InuYasha by his fire rat and lifted him from the ground. “You made it my business when you called me, fool. Do you have any idea the kind of danger you have put her in? Your youkai rages because it knows she is no longer safe.”
Kagome was torn. Sesshomaru obviously knew what was wrong and so they needed his help, but she couldn’t just stand by and let him hurt InuYasha.
“She wasn’t safe before,” InuYasha said trying to break free from Sesshomaru’s grip. “I don’t know what the hell you are so mad about anyway.”
“Do you really claim to be so ignorant?” the youkai demanded. “You bedded her and left her unclaimed! You might as well have put her out on the streets with a sign around her neck proclaiming her a disposable object to be used and discarded. At least before now she had her purity to protect her from being thought a whore.”
“Wait a minute! That’s what he said, the youkai at the store. He said something about me being unclaimed,” Kagome offered.
“The hell she is,” InuYasha growled. “She’s mine and has been since the first time she came through the well. It just took me a while to tell her that. She’s not a whore, she’s my mate and if you call her that again, I’ll kill you.”
In spite of the situation, Kagome felt herself smile.
Sesshomaru threw him to the ground. “That is precisely the problem. She isn’t your mate. Are you certain you preformed the bonding correctly?”
Kagome flushed, and thought she might die of embarrassment but felt that she had no choice but to speak on InuYasha’s behalf. “Um, he definitely, um, preformed correctly.” As she spoke InuYasha rose and wrapped his arms around her again.
“So you both spoke the rites, exchanged blood, and drew the marks of bonding up on each other?” Sesshomaru asked.
“What the hell are you talking about?” InuYasha asked
The taiyoukai’s brow dipped. “You truly have no idea what I am talking about? How can this be? How did you reach maturity without all of this being explained to you.”
InuYasha held Kagome a bit more tightly as he replied, “And just who the hell did you expect to have done that? You know that damn flea was worthless as a vassal, and you are the only other family I have…”
Sesshomaru went completely still and silent as only a youkai can do. A long moment passed and then he spoke. “I apologize. I should not have been so quick to reprimand you when the fault is mine. I will tell you what must be done.”
They all sat and Sesshomaru explained to them what should have happened and what they needed to do to calm InuYasha’s youkai and protect Kagome’s honor.
“Ideally you would have used a claw to draw blood from your chest over your heart and drawn the youkai symbol for mate on her chest in your blood, then claimed her first blood and used it to mark the youkai symbol for mate on your chest over your heart,” he began.
InuYasha shifted uncomfortably. “By first blood you meant… Her… when we…”
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. “Yes that is what I meant. As I said first blood is ideal because then you need not cause any injury, no matter how small, to your mate to draw her blood. Since that will not be possible, you can just prick her finger and guide her hand to draw the mark. Once that is done you must speak the words ‘To you, my body, my heart, my soul. Only you in this lifetime and whatever follows. We are one.’. Once that is done, at the moment of completion you must exchange blood. It will take nothing more than allowing your fangs to draw a few drops of blood from your lips and hers and then sharing a kiss.
“If you have done everything correctly then you should feel the bond form almost immediately. You will be connected in such a way as to allow you to share strong emotion through the bond, find each other across great distances, and borrow strength from each other. Her human life would be over as she would share your lifespan, as well. It is not a commitment to be entered into lightly. Only a great act of betrayal can sever the connection.”
“A great act of betrayal?” Kagome asked.
“Infidelity, willful abandonment, physical abuse, or psychological torment,” he replied. “If there is nothing further I will leave you to discuss what you have learned. You may call me if you require any further assistance.”
Once Sesshomaru was gone, Kagome worked up the courage to try and get InuYasha to talk about everything they had been told. “What he talked about, do you think…is that something you want for us… with me?”
His first instinct was to say yes and that would have been the truth but he was too afraid that Kagome didn’t want the same thing to answer her, so instead he shrugged. “I’ll be okay. You don’t have to do all that bonding shit.”
Kagome bit her lip hard as her heart shattered. She supposed she had been stupid to think he would be interested in that sort of commitment with her. She tried to get up and leave the room before she started crying, but he wouldn’t let her go.
“Kagome? Shit are you crying?” he asked. “What’s the matter?”
She shook head as she tried to reign in her emotions. “It’s nothing.”
InuYasha snorted. “If it was nothing you wouldn’t be blubbering about it. Now talk to me damn it. How can I fix it if you won’t tell me what’s wrong?”
“Don’t you even want to think about it?” she asked quietly. “Would it really be so bad to be with me for more than just my human life? I’d be a good mate to you, I promise.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he said, shifting her in his lap so that he could see her face. “You really think that it wouldn’t kill me to have to watch you die while I’m still young or that I think you wouldn’t be a better mate than I could ever hope to deserve.”
“Then why?” she asked. “Why did you act like you didn’t want to do it?”
An entirely self-deprecating sound escaped him. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I said you didn’t have to. Idiot, woman, what right do I have to even hope you’d want to be stuck with me for so long. I’m not worth that.”
Kagome glared at him. “Why didn’t you just ask me and let me decide for myself if I want to be bonded to you, instead of deciding for both of us?”
“Because you could have said no,” he admitted quietly.
Her anger vanished in an instant. Her poor, beautiful InuYasha, so strong, yet at the same time so vulnerable. She placed her hands on the sides of his face. “I’ve known since I was 15 that you were the only man I would love. There is nothing you could ask that I wouldn’t do. I love you, InuYasha. I loved you when I thought that you would never love me back. I will always love you. Forever with you still wouldn’t be long enough. Do you understand?”
He smirked. “Is that a yes, then?”
“Why you-” Kagome tried, but she was cut off as he pressed his mouth to hers.
He kissed her until they were both breathless, one of his hands sliding back into her hair as the other held her close. “Will you let me promise you forever, Kagome?”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He rose from the sofa and carried her up the stairs to her room.
“Morning,” she murmured as she placed a soft kiss against his chest.
His replied was a muffled ‘keh’ as he nuzzled her neck.
She gasped as his fangs scraped lightly against her skin. “I don’t want to, but we should probably get up before my family gets home.”
InuYasha lifted his head, his expression was carefully blank. “You don’t want them to know.”
Kagome smiled at him. “Idiot. They already know. I just don’t think someone walking in on us would make anyone very happy. I mean do you really want jii-chan coming at you with his sutra while you’re naked? What if one actually works for a change?”
His cheeks reddened and he snorted, but didn’t disagree - even if he was more worried about Kagome’s mother catching him with his pants down than he was that her grandfather’s sutra were going to suddenly start working.
After all, Kagome had to get that temper of hers from somewhere.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later that she actually managed to get out of bed, but when she finally did InuYasha was surprised by how acutely that he felt her loss. Something stirred inside her him and compelled him to get up and follow her as she left the room. Kagome gave him a curious look as he shadowed her around the room, but said nothing, even ignoring his near constant touches.
He didn’t know what was wrong with him. If anything he should have felt more secure than ever about things between him and Kagome, but instead the youkai in him was a fucking mess. He had never felt quite like this before, and it was more than a little unsettling. He picked up his sword and secured it at his hip, hoping that it would quiet his youkai, but for the first time it didn’t help at all. He followed Kagome to the bathroom walking closely enough behind her that they were actually touching.
She stopped outside the door and turned around, placing a gentle hand on his chest. “Um, I need to… You know, so um, can you wait here just for a minute.”
He knew what she was telling him, and he knew it was a reasonable request. Even with someone you love and even after you had shared something so personal, there were still some things you’d rather have privacy for. He knew all that, but it was still literally painful for him to nod and then not to follow her despite her request. When she came out, he grabbed her and pulled her against him, breathing deeply against her neck. It was an impulse that he hadn’t been able to resist. She gasped but then giggled, and he was relieved that she wasn’t upset with him.
She leaned back and smiled. “How about I go make us some breakfast?”
He nodded and forced himself to release her. His stomach churned as she stepped away from him, and he wasn’t even sure that he would be able to eat. Something was definitely wrong. His knuckles turned white as he gripped Tetsusaiga’s hilt and headed for the kitchen.
Even as she cooked he couldn’t seem to make himself stop touching her. His only consolation was that she didn’t seem to mind, at least not yet.
It was only when she turned and bumped into him for the third time that she finally said, “Hey, are you all right?”
He felt his face heat at her obvious concern but he couldn’t bring himself to confide in her. “Keh,” he muttered dismissively.
Kagome chewed her lower lip and her eyes grew damp, and he realized that she had misunderstood his dismissal. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t… Please don’t be upset. I just… I never expected you to be like this. Don’t get me wrong. I love that you know that it’s okay, that I want you to touch me and be affectionate towards me. I just didn’t…I expected things to be different, just not this different. Do you understand? So if there really is nothing wrong then just forget I said anything, okay?”
“Damn it,” he growled as he wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t help it. It’s like I have to be touching you or it starts to feel like I am going to lose control of my youkai. It’s never been like this before.”
Kagome closed her eyes and leaned into him, his obvious distress calling out to her for reassurance. She took a deep breath and then suggested the only thing that she could think of to help him. “Maybe you should call Sesshomaru. I know you probably don’t want to, but he might be able to tell us what is wrong.”
InuYasha knew she was right. He knew it, and still he was dreading having to make that call and try and explain to his brother what was going on. As it was, he was only just coming around to the idea of having a brother who didn’t think he was a blight on his family’s honor.
“I could call for you,” Kagome offered tentatively.
InuYasha shook his head. What kind of man, of mate would be if he put that responsibility on her. “Nah, I’ll do it. I don’t fucking want to, but you’re right.”
He forced himself away from her, giving her cheek a last, light caress to dispel the look of concern on her face. With a last look, Kagome turned and began to plate their breakfast, while InuYasha went to use the phone.
The number Sesshomaru had given him was pinned on a board next to the handset. As he dialed he tried to block out the voice of his youkai as it raged inside him. Kagome wasn’t more than five steps away for fuck’s sake. It was ridiculous.
“Hello.”
InuYasha recognized his brother’s voice, but the problem was that he wasn’t entirely sure what to say. A frustrated growl escaped him.
“InuYasha, was there are reason for this call or are you simply trying to annoy me?” Sesshomaru asked.
“Something’s wrong with me,” InuYasha replied. “My youkai is a fucking mess and won’t settle, even when I am holding Tetsusaiga.”
“I will be there as soon as I am able.”
InuYasha placed the phone back in its cradle and joined Kagome at the table to eat. As he sat beside her, she took his hand and placed it on her leg before starting to eat. He was grateful for the contact as the demon inside him quieted at last.
When they were finished, Kagome began to clear the table. She hated to leave him when he was clearly so upset but there were a few things she needed desperately. “Do you think you’ll be okay if I make a quick trip to the store? I shouldn’t be gone more than 15 minutes.”
Every single part of him wanted to grab and hold her and never let go at the thought of her leaving, even for such a short time, but he refused to give in to whatever it was that was causing him to feel this way. “Keh, I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re sure,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around her. “Just don’t take too long.”
~*~
Kagome got the distinct feeling that someone was following her as she selected the items she needed from the small market. She had already gathered the items for dinner as well as a few toiletries. All that was left to gather was the real reason for her emergency trip to the store, a box of condoms. She wanted children, more specifically InuYasha’s children, but not quite yet.
She knew it was silly but she felt a rush of heat in her cheeks as she picked up the box and placed in the basket hanging from her arm.
“I’ve never seen a whore blush before.”
Kagome spun around at the voice and found a youkai, who even in terms of their ageless beauty, appeared to be very young. He had caught her completely off guard and because of that her heart was racing. She took a deep breath and willed it to slow.
His magenta eyes were filled with malice. “And here I though the half dog was supposed to ‘love’ his ‘miko’. But to let you out of the house smelling like that, unclaimed… you must be more expendable than we thought. Probably wouldn’t even be worth trying to kidnap.”
“Try it, if you think you can,” she said fiercly.
“So the whore has spirit,” the demon laughed. “Might be worth taking you after all. You might be fun to play with.” He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. “Wanna play, whore?”
As his hand extended towards her, she let the warmth of her power fill her. Just before his hand made contact with her skin, her power flared and shocked him. The burns on his fingers smoked ever so slightly, and he cursed drawing back several paces.
“I would leave if I were you,” Kagome said casually as she headed for the counter to make her purchases. “Oh, and if you call me a whore one more time, I won’t give you that chance.”
She managed to keep her hands from shaking as she handed her money to the store clerk. She wasn’t entirely sure her courage was going to hold for much longer. Thankfully, when she turned to leave the youkai was gone. She grabbed her bags and hurried back to the shrine. The entire way home she made sure to keep sensing for any unfamiliar youki nearby.
As soon as she crested the shrine steps, InuYasha was there, taking her in his arms. She could feel him trembling against her and decided to wait to tell him what had happened at the store until after he was a bit more himself.
“Sesshomaru, not here yet?” she asked as he escorted her into the house, one arm around her waist, the other carrying her bags.
“Not yet,” he replied. “I wish the bastard would hurry up already.”
As she put the groceries away, InuYasha stood behind her, his hands around her waist, moving with her as she reached from the counter to the refrigerator. She didn’t want to ask him to step back, no matter how restricting it was because her trip to the store had obviously been much more difficult for him to endure than she had intended.
“I’m sorry,” he admitted quietly. “I can’t…”
She turned in his arms. “Don’t apologize. We’ll figure this out and until then I have an excuse to stay the one place that I always feel the safest; right here in your arms.”
They went into the living room and sat down on the sofa, Kagome sitting comfortably across, InuYasha’s lap. She rested her head against his chest and she could almost feel his youki purring in contentment. Now that he was more at ease, she decided it was time to tell him about the demon that had approached her at the store.
“While I was shopping a youkai showed up,” she said as she lifted her head and looked up at him. “He said some things I didn’t really understand and talked about kidnapping me.”
InuYasha stiffened. “You should have told me as soon as you got back so I could’ve hunted that bastard down and killed him.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” she replied. “When he tried to touch me he got shocked by my spiritual powers and that seemed to have scared him off. I don’t think he expected it.”
InuYasha snorted. “You should have done more than shock him. So what else did he say that you didn’t understand?”
“Well, he said he couldn’t believe you let me out of the house smelling like I did or something.” Kagome sighed. “The things he said implied that whatever he smelled made it seem like I wasn’t important to you, that I was your whore and nothing more.”
“And it is no wonder he did,” Sesshomaru said a she entered the room. His tone was icy and Kagome could feel the fury radiating off of him. “Of all the idiotic things to have done. Have you no sense, no respect for your miko?”
InuYasha came to his feet, careful to place himself between Kagome and his brother. “Now wait just a damn minute! What’s between Kagome and me ain’t none of your fucking business and besides it ain’t like that.”
Sesshomaru grabbed InuYasha by his fire rat and lifted him from the ground. “You made it my business when you called me, fool. Do you have any idea the kind of danger you have put her in? Your youkai rages because it knows she is no longer safe.”
Kagome was torn. Sesshomaru obviously knew what was wrong and so they needed his help, but she couldn’t just stand by and let him hurt InuYasha.
“She wasn’t safe before,” InuYasha said trying to break free from Sesshomaru’s grip. “I don’t know what the hell you are so mad about anyway.”
“Do you really claim to be so ignorant?” the youkai demanded. “You bedded her and left her unclaimed! You might as well have put her out on the streets with a sign around her neck proclaiming her a disposable object to be used and discarded. At least before now she had her purity to protect her from being thought a whore.”
“Wait a minute! That’s what he said, the youkai at the store. He said something about me being unclaimed,” Kagome offered.
“The hell she is,” InuYasha growled. “She’s mine and has been since the first time she came through the well. It just took me a while to tell her that. She’s not a whore, she’s my mate and if you call her that again, I’ll kill you.”
In spite of the situation, Kagome felt herself smile.
Sesshomaru threw him to the ground. “That is precisely the problem. She isn’t your mate. Are you certain you preformed the bonding correctly?”
Kagome flushed, and thought she might die of embarrassment but felt that she had no choice but to speak on InuYasha’s behalf. “Um, he definitely, um, preformed correctly.” As she spoke InuYasha rose and wrapped his arms around her again.
“So you both spoke the rites, exchanged blood, and drew the marks of bonding up on each other?” Sesshomaru asked.
“What the hell are you talking about?” InuYasha asked
The taiyoukai’s brow dipped. “You truly have no idea what I am talking about? How can this be? How did you reach maturity without all of this being explained to you.”
InuYasha held Kagome a bit more tightly as he replied, “And just who the hell did you expect to have done that? You know that damn flea was worthless as a vassal, and you are the only other family I have…”
Sesshomaru went completely still and silent as only a youkai can do. A long moment passed and then he spoke. “I apologize. I should not have been so quick to reprimand you when the fault is mine. I will tell you what must be done.”
They all sat and Sesshomaru explained to them what should have happened and what they needed to do to calm InuYasha’s youkai and protect Kagome’s honor.
“Ideally you would have used a claw to draw blood from your chest over your heart and drawn the youkai symbol for mate on her chest in your blood, then claimed her first blood and used it to mark the youkai symbol for mate on your chest over your heart,” he began.
InuYasha shifted uncomfortably. “By first blood you meant… Her… when we…”
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. “Yes that is what I meant. As I said first blood is ideal because then you need not cause any injury, no matter how small, to your mate to draw her blood. Since that will not be possible, you can just prick her finger and guide her hand to draw the mark. Once that is done you must speak the words ‘To you, my body, my heart, my soul. Only you in this lifetime and whatever follows. We are one.’. Once that is done, at the moment of completion you must exchange blood. It will take nothing more than allowing your fangs to draw a few drops of blood from your lips and hers and then sharing a kiss.
“If you have done everything correctly then you should feel the bond form almost immediately. You will be connected in such a way as to allow you to share strong emotion through the bond, find each other across great distances, and borrow strength from each other. Her human life would be over as she would share your lifespan, as well. It is not a commitment to be entered into lightly. Only a great act of betrayal can sever the connection.”
“A great act of betrayal?” Kagome asked.
“Infidelity, willful abandonment, physical abuse, or psychological torment,” he replied. “If there is nothing further I will leave you to discuss what you have learned. You may call me if you require any further assistance.”
Once Sesshomaru was gone, Kagome worked up the courage to try and get InuYasha to talk about everything they had been told. “What he talked about, do you think…is that something you want for us… with me?”
His first instinct was to say yes and that would have been the truth but he was too afraid that Kagome didn’t want the same thing to answer her, so instead he shrugged. “I’ll be okay. You don’t have to do all that bonding shit.”
Kagome bit her lip hard as her heart shattered. She supposed she had been stupid to think he would be interested in that sort of commitment with her. She tried to get up and leave the room before she started crying, but he wouldn’t let her go.
“Kagome? Shit are you crying?” he asked. “What’s the matter?”
She shook head as she tried to reign in her emotions. “It’s nothing.”
InuYasha snorted. “If it was nothing you wouldn’t be blubbering about it. Now talk to me damn it. How can I fix it if you won’t tell me what’s wrong?”
“Don’t you even want to think about it?” she asked quietly. “Would it really be so bad to be with me for more than just my human life? I’d be a good mate to you, I promise.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he said, shifting her in his lap so that he could see her face. “You really think that it wouldn’t kill me to have to watch you die while I’m still young or that I think you wouldn’t be a better mate than I could ever hope to deserve.”
“Then why?” she asked. “Why did you act like you didn’t want to do it?”
An entirely self-deprecating sound escaped him. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I said you didn’t have to. Idiot, woman, what right do I have to even hope you’d want to be stuck with me for so long. I’m not worth that.”
Kagome glared at him. “Why didn’t you just ask me and let me decide for myself if I want to be bonded to you, instead of deciding for both of us?”
“Because you could have said no,” he admitted quietly.
Her anger vanished in an instant. Her poor, beautiful InuYasha, so strong, yet at the same time so vulnerable. She placed her hands on the sides of his face. “I’ve known since I was 15 that you were the only man I would love. There is nothing you could ask that I wouldn’t do. I love you, InuYasha. I loved you when I thought that you would never love me back. I will always love you. Forever with you still wouldn’t be long enough. Do you understand?”
He smirked. “Is that a yes, then?”
“Why you-” Kagome tried, but she was cut off as he pressed his mouth to hers.
He kissed her until they were both breathless, one of his hands sliding back into her hair as the other held her close. “Will you let me promise you forever, Kagome?”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He rose from the sofa and carried her up the stairs to her room.