Disclaimer: Inuyasha's not mine....though I do dream about it sometimes.....

A/N: Well here's chapter 10! Thank you ALL for your wonderful reviews! I'm sorry I wasn't able to get this up yesterday, but university is starting to crack down and I've been sick due to stress. But here it is! As promised...chapter 10!

(passes out store bought cookies) What? You really think I had time to bake them myself?!

It took all of Inuyasha's self-control not to leap from the branch he was situated on and beat Taka bloody. This sneaking around was definitely not his style. Digging his claws into the bark, he bent his knees and prepared himself for yet another jump. He had been following the idiot for a long while now. Where the hell was he going?

Releasing his grip on the bark, he jumped and executed another silent leap into the next tree. The fact that the entire side of the path – or 'sidewalk' as Kagome put it – was lined with trees made following the bastard a hell of a whole lot easier.

The new jeans that he had been given were making it a pain in the ass, though. Longing for something looser, he winced as the material restricted him a bit as he crouched low on the branch. The coarse fabric was loosening a touch, but would never reach the flexibility that he had in his fire-rat robe.

Narrowing his eyes at the unaware human, Inuyasha sat back and watched as he entered a building, using a key to get in. Cursing over the fact that he would not be able to reach the closing door in time, Inuyasha leapt to the ground and looked up at the building.

It wasn't very high, he noticed. Kagome had told him that how high a building was depended on how many stories there were, and each one usually had one window. Looking up, he saw three windows going up the side of the building, and two going across the side closest to him.

Quickly finding cover in some brush, he lifted his head and breathed in deeply, trying to catch onto the bastard's scent. Sifting through about a million scents was not the easiest thing to do, so luckily for Inuyasha, he just happened to be on the right side of the building when a light went on in the top corner window.

Smirking, he casually leapt up to the second balcony before making the final leap to one above it. Quickly hiding out of view from the large window, he crouched under it, cracking his knuckles and staring at the door that was next to it.

Now if only the bastard would walk out onto the balcony....

But after a few minutes, Inuyasha realized he would have no such luck tonight. Growling to himself, he slowly stood and peered inside the window.

Much to his surprise, he found the inside to be rather bare. A single table sat inside what looked like a miniature version of the kitchen that was in Kagome's house. There were two other doorways, and Inuyasha figured that one of them was an entrance, so the other must be a bedroom. Sweeping his gaze around the room, he couldn't find anything to suggest that he was the one stalking Kagome.

Furious over the lack of 'evidence', he didn't notice Taka walk into the main room from the bedroom. Quickly crouching back down again before Taka could see anything, he once again prepared himself to ambush the human if he dared step out on the balcony.

Moments later, he noticed the light was turned off and a door open and shut.

'Good,' he thought to himself. 'Now I can search for that 'evidence'.' Smirking, he walked over to the door and crouched near the lock, trying to figure out how to work the damn thing.

'Do you even know what 'evidence' is?' A very Kagome-sounding thought entered his mind.

Pissed that his own criticisms were starting to sound like Kagome, he growled. 'Shut up. I'll know it when I see it.'

Finally having enough of the lock, he moved over to the window and grinned when he found it was open. 'Moron,' he snickered to himself as he slid it open and slithered his way inside.

Coughing at the stench of the boy, he covered his nose with his hand and began ripping open drawers. Finding nothing but cutlery and chopsticks, he slammed them shut again and stormed over to the bedroom.

Widening his eyes at the amount of books and paper, he snarled and punched the wall with his fist. More reading.

Stomping over to the books that lay strewn on the desk, he found some of them similar looking to the ones that Kagome had. Figuring they were school books, he slammed them shut and threw them over his shoulder, proclaiming them useless.

A few papers were neatly folded in the corner and he picked them up, sniffing each one. When he got to the last one, he froze. It was true he couldn't read, however, a few things stuck in his mind, and one of those string of characters was stamped to the page, near the top. He had seen this before, while Kagome was doing homework.

Sure, he couldn't read....but he could sure as hell recognize Kagome's name when he saw it.

Kagome sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers digging into the covers. She convinced herself she was perfectly trusting of Inuyasha, but despite that, she was still anxious he might get into trouble somehow. Not to mention he had left an hour and a half ago, and it had been dark outside before he left. It was getting rather late.

Standing, she sighed and walked over to the window, planning on shutting the drapes until he got back. Ever since the night she found she was being watched, she had become adamant about keeping all the house drapes closed and her mother agreed it was best. Reaching for the fabric, she jumped back as the window opened and Inuyasha leapt through.

"Hey," she greeted, already looking over his body for any sign of a fight. "How did it go?"

"Kagome, this is your name, right?" Inuyasha thrust a piece of paper in her face, one claw tapping the top corner of the paper.

"Yes," Kagome frowned. "What's th-," She stopped and stared at the paper. "That's my information from the school!" She exclaimed, ripping the paper out of Inuyasha's hands and staring at it in horror. "Where the hell did you get this?"

"Taka," Inuyasha said simply, turning around to shut the window and close the curtains. He quickly told her what had happened from the time he left the house until leaving Taka's place.

"He's living in an apartment by himself?" Kagome's face contorted into puzzlement. "It's not unheard of, but....well, maybe his parents own the building," she mused, trying to make sense of it all.

"Why does he have this?" Inuyasha pressed, leaning closer to her face and gesturing to the paper.

"I don't know!" Kagome exclaimed. "This information is supposed to be confidential and locked away in the head office at school!"

Inuyasha growled. "Bastard probably stole it."

"It's very likely, seeing as how I doubt some teacher just handed it to him!" Kagome retorted, slamming the paper down on the desk.

"Is this evidence enough?" Inuyasha asked, tapping his finger against the paper.

"It'll probably get him in trouble with the school, but it's not enough to get him taken away," Kagome explained with a sigh. "We still don't know if he's the one stalking me."

"Fuck," Inuyasha spat, turning on his heel and pacing the confines of the room. "What now?"

Kagome shrugged, worried. "If a student can get into my personal files...." She trailed off. "Oh god, anybody else could." She moaned and leaned over. "No, I don't want to think about this. This is too much," surprising even herself, she felt her eyes well up with tears. "Why me?" She asked Inuyasha, voice wavering slightly.

Aggravated by the sight of a hurting mate, the youkai pushed him to leap forward and engulf the girl in a tight, protective hug. Nuzzling the side of her face, he tried to pull her closer, wanting to cover every inch of her fragile body.

"Isn't my life filled with enough danger?" She cried into his shoulder, pressing herself against him. "Isn't it enough that I deal with youkai on a daily basis? Why a stalker? Why now? Why me?" She ended in an enraged shout.

"You're never in danger," he told her firmly, giving her a little shake. "I don't know why you were pulled through the well in the first place, but I can sure as hell tell you this," he pulled her away slightly so he could grasp her shoulders and look her in the eye. "You were meant to be dragged down that well. It happened for a reason."

"How do you figure?" Kagome whispered, startled by the intensity in his eyes.

"You were meant to free me so that I can protect you. Whether it's human or youkai, I am never going to allow them to hurt you, you're mine," He finished with a growl.

"E-," Kagome's eyes widened. "Wh-," she stuttered, silenced by Inuyasha's fingers as he laid them across her lips.

A slight flush settled across his features, and he turned his head down to face the floor, hiding his face from her view. Kami, did he just say what he thought he said? Out loud?

Finally, the youkai smirked.

'Just shut up for a minute!' He shouted in his mind. 'Fuck. What now?'

Claim her, the youkai replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

'Are you out of your mind?!' He shouted to himself, realizing on some level that it wasn't healthy to be arguing with your own self.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's soft and hesitant voice floated up to him.

Mustering courage, he curled his hands into defiant fists and looked up, preparing to deny the statement was ever said.

Soft lips on his cheek cut off any thoughts he had. Stunned, he could only stand there as Kagome gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. She leaned back, blushing, and turned her gaze to the floor.

"Thanks," she whispered, embarrassed.

Finally finding his voice, he coughed. "For what?"

"For protecting me," she replied shyly. "And for not pulling back when I did that." She forced a nervous giggle.

Swallowing, he licked his lips, staring at her endearing blush. "Why would I pull back?" He asked in a low tone that sent shivers down Kagome's spine.

"I," she glanced up at him before returning her gaze to the floor. "I don't know." She shrugged. Looking up, she tensed a moment before blurting out her next question. "Whatdidyoumeanmine?" She spoke all at once.

Inuyasha's ears drooped a little. "I don't know what you're talking about, bitch" he glanced about the room, indifferent.

"Sit."

"Aaghh!" Inuyasha picked his head off of the floor to glare at her. "What the fuck was that for?!"

"Tell me," Kagome asked desperately.

Ears drooped back, he swallowed. "In....youkai terms," he started out slowly, trying to think of an explanation she could understand. "Because I protect you and because my scent is the only male scent surrounding you, it means you're mine." There. 'Not bad,' he praised himself.

"But what does that mean?" Kagome pressed.

"That you're....," Inuyasha swallowed, and shook his head. Why was he being so hesitant? He was going to have to explain it sooner or later. He picked himself off the floor and stood up. "The scent mark on you is an intentional claim. When any other male youkai smells it, they'll know that it means that soon, or in the near future you'll be my mate."

Inuyasha stared, waiting for a reaction. The one he got was not what he expected. For how long could one person stand so perfectly still without blinking? "Kagome?" He poked her cheek. "Kagome?"

Unable to process all of the events throughout the night, she shook her head in denial. "Ohhh, It's stress. This isn't real," she muttered, holding her head in her hands.

"Eh?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sit."

"Aahh!" Inuyasha grunted, falling onto his futon.

"Goodnight," Kagome climbed into bed and turned out the light, snuggling into the covers and waiting for the day to be over so her life could get back to normal.

"Kagome?" Inuyash struggled against the spell. "Kagome, did you hear me?" How dare she ignore him after what he just said?

"Go to sleep," she ordered him.

"No!" He shoved against the spell, and the moment it wore off, he stood next to the bed, shaking her lightly. "Answer me, damn you! Say something!" He snarled.

He'd thought about this moment. About the moment when Naraku was dead, the Shikon no Tama was purified....but more importantly, when he asked Kagome to stay with him. Forever.

This was not how he'd imagined it. She was supposed to be happy damnit! Ecstatic! She was supposed to throw her arms around him and tell him she loved him, god damnit!

A small half-snarl, half whine escaped his lips before he could stop them. Horrified, he took a step back. So it was true. He was just a worthless hanyou after all. Nobody wanted him. It was all true.

But....he thought Kagome had been different. Hell, she agreed to take lessons from Myouga to better understand him. Why was she giving him the shoulder now?

Another sound escaped his throat, and he could feel his youkai side taking over. But it wasn't the angry, bloodthirsty demon that he was used to. This one mourned. It mourned the rejection from its mate.

Burying his face into her neck, he nuzzled the side of it. It needed comfort. It needed to be accepted back again.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, swallowing. What was he doing now? "What's going on?"

Finding a sense of control, Inuyasha was able to push back the youkai and once again regain control over his body. Shifting slightly, Inuyasha leaned forward to sneak a lick under her chin. Burying his face back into her shoulder once more, he inhaled her scent one more time before making a decision.

He accepted the rejection, and landed in a seating position next to the bed with a huff. Mate or not, he was going to continue to protect her, no matter what. After all....she was the tama detector.

Fuck that, you asshole, the youkai spat. Quit trying to kid yourself. We both want to change Kagome's mind.

'Keh,' he huffed back.

His ears flipped back when he heard the shifting of sheets, and it took all he possessed not to turn and look at her as he felt her drop down next to him. Taking in deep breaths, he held himself still, his face betraying no emotion. Like hell he was going to let her see how much she affected him. Ignorant bitch.

Kagome bit her lip and stared at his face. She was still in a state of shock, but on some level, she knew that he was serious about the whole 'intent claim' situation. She wanted to cry when she finally realized what he was saying. He wanted her for a mate.

This whole time....it wasn't Kikyo holding him back from deciding what he wanted. It was Naraku. He had his mind made up the entire time, but didn't want to say anything because of the quest. She knew on some level that if Naraku knew what going on between them, he could use it to his own benefit and tear them apart.

'Good going, Kagome,' she berated herself. 'Look at the mess you made just because you didn't want to deal with it. Did you ever once think about Inuyasha's feelings? How about every damn time you run home after a fight?'

Nodding and wincing at the voice in her head, she closed her eyes. It was true. They never resolved anything. After a fight, she always ran home and ignored the situation. Thinking back, she couldn't think of a time when they really actually took a step back and tried to calm down after being at each other's throats.

She needed to fix this.

Realizing wryly that the once pointless lesson Myouga taught her when she was apart from the others would in fact come in handy, she leaned forward and nuzzled the underside of his chin. Waiting a few moments and finding that he wasn't going to respond to a simple apology, she gave an equivalent to a whimper and turned until she was seated in front of him.

Steeling herself, and blushing furiously, she leaned forward and licked the underside of his chin. Leaning back, she tilted her head to the ceiling, waiting for acceptance.

Inuyasha mentally blinked, and felt his heard thud in his chest. The bitch was asking him for acceptance back? And in youkai terms, no less. Opening his eyes, he noted with male youkai pride that she was baring her throat to him, an act of submission.

Growling seductively, he leaned forward and bit lightly the soft skin on the side of her neck before smoothing over the skin with a lap of his tongue.

Shivering, Kagome was relieved that he accepted her apology, and tried to lean back, but Inuyasha had moved down her neck, kissing and nipping the skin so sweetly that she couldn't find her breath.

Reaching forward, he grabbed her hips and dragged her closer, seating her in his lap as he continued nibbling on the side of her neck. "Where did you learn that?" He whispered against the side of her neck.

Groaning at the heat of his breath, she couldn't seem to find her voice.

"Let me guess," He smirked and nuzzled her shoulder. "Lessons from the flea?"

"Uhhnggg...." Kagome was horrified to hear the sound exit her mouth.

Inuyasha laughed. "My mate," he purred into her neck. "Mine."

"Oh god," Kagome threw her arms around his neck. "I couldn't tell if you were serious or not," she admitted with an embarrassed laugh.

"Very serious," he pulled her tighter to him, hugging her one last time before standing and placing her on her bed. "But now isn't the time," he reluctantly admitted. "After everything is safe," he promised.

"You mean here or in the past?" she joked.

"Both," he stepped back from the bed.

Kagome blinked, unsure suddenly. "Are you really Inuyasha?"

Cocking his head, he frowned at her. "Why?" He asked, suspicious.

"You're acting so....not like your usual self," Kagome replied, half chuckling nervously.

"Wench," he growled. "Get some sleep," he ordered, falling back on his futon.

Kagome laughed. "There's the Inuyasha I know and love."

'There it is,' he smiled to himself. "Keh!" He replied in his usual, gruff manner.

"Goodnight Inuyasha."

"Go to sleep, Kagome."

A/N: Woooww...I hope he wasn't too out of character, there. (winces) Please don't hate me! (shrieks and falls under covers) I have a feeling this chapter was terrible. Oh....(clutched stomach) Please tell me I did okay.

(grabs a plate of cookies sent to her from reviewers) (picks up a book titled 'increase your self-esteem' and begins to read)

Inuyasha: HEY! That's where my book went!

Eh? But you can't read!

Inuyasha: It comes with a tape.

OoooOoOOOOooo.... (pulls out tape and stares at it with wonder)

PLEASE REVIEW!