A/N - This is strange for me. I don't necessarily choose Inuyasha/Kagome over Sess/Kagome, but inspiration calls, yes? xD Anyway, quick oneshot without a purpose and a lot of fluff toward the end! Some angst & rated for Inuyasha's bad mouth xD. Enjoy all! (:

Hers

He didn't deserve her. He knew that. Never would, and that was that.

He'd let her get kidnapped, and somewhere along the way Tetsusaiga had gotten away from him. He could feel his blood boiling just beneath his skin, burning and demanding to take claim over his mind. Fucking worthless. He would not let her be taken from him again.

Her scent flew on the wind, sweet and intoxicating and everything he ever wanted. He got a whiff of something he probably shouldn't have because oh-fuck-now-that-demon-fucker-was-going-to-die. Her blood. His eyesight flashed and blurred as his instincts screamed bloody murder.

Shoving his thoughts aside with a snarl, he leapt forward and left the rest of the group behind. Tree branches whipped his skin. He was getting closer. Didn't change shit, cause that demon was never going to see the light of another day once he got his claws on him.

His own blood ran down his palms, claws having pierced his skin. It was too quiet; she should have called for him by now and that she hadn't was driving him into a full on, red tinted, glossy-eyed rage. If that demon had so much as scratched-fuck it he already had!

A savage roar loosed from his throat and birds screeched in terror as he crashed through the forest undergrowth.

"Leave me alone!" Relief hit him faster than he could blink; Kagome fought no matter what and bless her heart that she did, because he was too damn close to flipping his shit and the only thing saving him was the sound of her voice.

He broke through the treeline and dropped flat, narrowly missing the swing of a serpentine tail. She was trying, he could feel her aura fluttering with the suppressed power he knew lived beneath her skin.

"Kagome!" The demon had her around her middle, and he knew had to get it to lose grip close enough to the ground that she wouldn't be injured.

There were scratches on her skin and her uniform was torn to shreds. He knew in the core of his being that he would do whatever it took to make her safe, at all costs; nothing would stand in between him and her safety.

Her eyes sought him out, and when they met his he could literally smell the relief. He'd be damned if he said that didn't give him some sort of pride.

"Inuyasha!" She cried out; the demon took aim again, and missed by a long shot because he was already gone and slicing through its tail with his claws. It screamed and hissed, dropping Kagome fairly close to the earth, and he was already scooping her up in his arms to lift her away.

It took all of his fucking willpower to set her down. She was warm, she was Kagome, she was everything.

He whirled, a guttural snarl erupting from his lips. He bared his fangs. "Come on you fucker, let's do this." He hissed, and then blood was fire in his veins.

The next few seconds were a hungry torrent of copper blood and rage, and when it was over there lay the gutted remains of a snake demon. Didn't matter for shit though if Kagome was hurt.

"Inuyasha." He was selfish, and he knew it. When he turned to her and silently picked her up in his arms, Kagome only smiled softly and leaned against his chest.

They touched down next to a stream, and Inuyasha still hadn't said a word. He cleaned his claws off, then tore a strip free of his haori and wet it in the cold water.

"Inuyasha, you don't...", Kagome murmured, her hand on his. His gold eyes never met hers, and he deftly but tenderly moved her hand out of the way. He took the cool cloth and pressed gently to each of her wounds, starting with the one on her ankle. Her breath hitched on a flutter in her chest.

He made it to her wrist. His eyes never left his hands and never wavered. A warm honeyed amber that simmered with emotion she could only guess at with the same curiosity that had plagued her dreams for so long. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration.

So fucking stupid! Why couldn't he protect her the way she deserved? The way she needed? Her blood was on his hands, but there was no one else he would ever trust her to. He loved her. God, he loved her with everything he had and everything he wished he did. Just for her. He'd do fucking anything.

He could at least attempt the same for her. There was a small scratch on her temple. He pressed it and wiped the blood away, trying to ignore the bright shine of her eyes. She was trust and emotion and kind and fuck if he wasn't so done with hiding behind assumptions and questions left unanswered.

Under his breath he growled, "Forget this subtle shit."

He leaned forward and pulled her to him with a heavy sigh, and buried his nose in her hair. Without even a heartbeat of hesitation, her arms came around him and held him close. He damn near died of happiness.

"Inuy-" She started to say. He shook his head, buried in the curve of her throat.

"Just be, Kagome." He grumbled, pulling her into his lap. Her legs rested on either side of his waist and his encircled her. He'd never know why the salt scent of her tears scent him into panic, or why her smile made his heart jump and start beating a thousand times per second. Why her scream sent a searing blade of fear into his gut. Why her voice reminded him that nothing else mattered. Why it drove him fucking insane to see Kouga within even twenty paces of her. Why his heart stopped when she looked at him with those deep, dark eyes of hers that never judged but only accepted.

But he did know that she was never, in a million damn years, ever leaving his arms again. His eyes closed and he relished in her scent, unconsciously rubbing his nose against her skin.

She was his.

When she leaned back to press her forehead against his, he realized something he hadn't before with startling clarity.

He was hers.

"Kagome, I-", He tried, his throat having gone dry. His claws twitched at her waist.

Her lips curved up in a tender smile that shone brighter in her eyes. "Just be, Inuyasha." She whispered.

And when she closed her eyes, he did too.

End