"Marked me?" Kagome continued to watch Koga's expression in awe. She had never seen the wolf demon look so astonished. Koga rocked back on his heels before silently getting up and walking out the door. Kagome sat still for a moment, wondering. What did he mean?

"You… bastard!" Koga's voice was a low sneer.

Kagome quickly got up and went outside. The whole gang was standing in front of the hut. Even some of the villagers had stopped their chores to peer nosily at the group. Inuyasha stood by, his shirt open revealing a newly bandaged chest. Once again, he avoided looking at her.

Koga was standing in front of Inuyasha. His back was turned so Kagome couldn't see his face. Koga swung his leg so quickly; if she had blinked she'd have missed it. His foot hit Inuyasha square in the jaw. The half demon faltered, falling to his knees. He wiped a smear of blood from his lip as he glared up at the wolf.

"Koga!" Kagome yelled.

"It's okay Kagome," Inuyasha grunted without looking her way. "I deserved it."

"Damn right you did!" Koga bellowed over him. "There's more where that came from. How dare you do that to her? You knew I had made a claim for her."

"Keh, she's not yours to claim," Inuyasha retorted as he got to his feet.

"Oh so that makes it okay for you then?" Koga brought his leg up again but Inuyasha caught it in his grip and flipped the wolf over.

"I gave you one free shot," he spat. "I won't do it again. You want a fight? Let's go then wolf."

Kagome had had enough. "Will you two cut it out and explain to me what is going on?!"

The two men turned in her direction. Inuyasha finally looked at her, his eyes softening into what looked like guilt.

Koga glanced between the two of them. "You didn't even tell her? Now I really need to kick your ass. I didn't think you'd stoop so low. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and growled, casting his amber eyes towards his feet.

"Tell me what?" Kagome asked exasperated. She was getting tired of beating around the bush with these two. Something was up and it involved her and the bite mark.

"Kagome," Miroku started. "Did something happen between you and Inuyasha?"

Kagome felt heat rush to her cheeks. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk about it to her friends yet but it seemed she had no other choice at the moment. "Sort of… He… we…"

"I bit her," Inuyasha growled, his voice thick with the same guilt she had seen in his eyes.

Everyone except Kagome gasped in shock. Sango ran over to her and pulled back her shirt to look at the bite. "Does it hurt Kagome?"

"No… not really. I mean it's a bit tender but…" Everyone continued to stare at her in shock. "What's the big deal? What does it mean?"

"Kagome…" Sango gave her friend a sad attempt at a reassuring smile. "Inuyasha has marked you as his mate."

It felt as though the world had fallen beneath her feet. Kagome's knees buckled and her eyes went wide. Sango caught her from falling and Miroku came over to help support her. Kagome stuttered incoherently. She looked over at Inuyasha. He was watching her, his expression filled with anxiousness.

Sango turned to him. "Inuyasha… did you…"

She didn't finish her phrase but clearly Inuyasha knew what she meant. He turned a brighter shade of red than his cloak. "No."

"You didn't?" Koga suddenly seemed relieved. "You bit her and just left her?"

Inuyasha seemed visibly bothered by the conversation. Kagome once again had no clue what they were on about. "I was in my youkai form and I couldn't control my body. I just remember being surrounded by her smell. When I bit her and tasted her blood… I came to and realized what I'd done."

Kagome felt saddened by his guilt. He hadn't been able to control himself but she hadn't exactly asked him to stop either. What would have happened if she had? Maybe he would've still been stuck in his demon form. Maybe he really would've hurt her.

"But you didn't finish the deed?" Koga asked again.

"I already told you," Inuyasha answered through gritted teeth. "Don't worry. I'm going to go away for a while. At least until it heals and goes away. She can stay here until then."

Koga nodded his head, apparently pleased by the half demon's response.

"Wait, what?" Kagome was so confused.

Sango sighed and spoke to Kagome in a low voice. "Biting someone is only part of the mating process. The other part is…"

"Sex."

"Houshi-sama!" Sango smacked Miroku across the cheek.

"Ouch! I was just telling her the truth. She deserves to hear it."

Sango sighed again. "There are gentler ways of telling a woman she needs to consummate with the demon in order for the process to be complete."

"Yes because consummate is a much better word." Miroku received a matching pink hand print on his other cheek.

Kagome glanced uneasily between the two of them, the conversation colouring her cheeks almost the same shade as Miroku's.

"So," Koga had turned once again to Inuyasha. "You're going to leave her. You know that'll be hard on both of you right? I mean, I've never marked someone before but I've heard stories of unfinished business."

"What does he mean?" Kagome asked Miroku and Sango. They seemed to be the only two willing to tell her what was going on instead of speaking in code like Inuyasha and Koga.

"He means you'll both go through heavy periods of deep desire for one another," Miroku stated frankly. "You'll feel it every hour of every day, even in your dreams until either the 'deed is done' or the mark heals."

Kagome blushed again, thinking of the dream she had just had while lying in the hut. That wasn't so bad and the mark was already bruising. Didn't that mean it was healing?

As if reading her thoughts, Sango spoke. "It won't be easy Kagome. The mark won't heal as quickly you might think. You've been injected with a type of poison if you will. It's not a dangerous poison by any means but it will cloud your mind."

"It might be easier to just bang it out," Miroku said so matter-of-factly. He received many glares in return. He backed away from Sango's swinging arm, narrowly missing another hit.

"Your input on this subject is not needed Houshi-sama!"

"It'll be fine!" Inuyasha yelled, he turned and began to walk off. "I'll be back when it wears off. I won't be far. If there's danger, just send Kirara. She'll be able to track me down."

"Inuyasha wait!" Kagome called and she ran towards him. He stopped. She noticed him tense the closer she got, his hands rolled into fists at his sides.

He had his back to them so she walked around him to face him. "Inuyasha, please," she spoke quietly, trying to keep the prying ears out of their conversation. "You don't have to go. I'll go home if that's what it takes."

"Kagome…" He began, his face etched in an expression of hurt. "You should stay here where the others can take care of you. I need to put some distance between us. It won't be long. I… I'm sorry…"

She put her hands on his arms to stop him from moving forward. She immediately felt a surge between them. He was staring at her hazily.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Stay safe Kagome."

With that, he moved out of her grasp and walked towards the forest. Kagome was left feeling very empty.