Chapter Rating : T

[Content is not suitable for children. Contains some description of violence. I am not your mother, read at your own discretion]

CHAPTER FOUR

Marked

Her head was pounding, her throat and ribs were bruised, the scratches along her arm burned, her eyes stung with salt, her clothes were unsalvageable, ripped to shreds like her dignity. Kagome's fingers now ached with the force she used to cling to him, her knuckles turning white under the strain of her grasp. "Kagome," She glanced up at her name. Her heart faltered at its next panicked beat. The markings of his daiyokai heritage were emblazoned fully on his face. The jagged purple stripes had never been so vibrant; a clear sign that his father's blood had won control. His eyes however, remained golden, though they now burned with fires of pure hatred unlike anything she had seen before. "Don't stop me." He told her simply; his tone was calm and level belying the pure bloodlust that burned inside him.

With a strong but gentle hand he pried himself free of her death grip. She didn't need to look, she knew what was happening next and kept her back turned so she wouldn't have to see it. Behind her the rubble of the smashed boulder clattered on the ground as the wolf demon started to regain consciousness. She pulled Inuyasha's suikan* tighter around her shoulders allowing herself to feel secure for just a moment wrapped in the plush armor as terrible noises erupted behind her.

"You fucking halfbreed mu-" Koga was cut off, words turning into a choking cough.

"Koga" He spat the name. "I should have killed you the first time we met. I won't be so generous this time." Another sickening crunch that made her stomach churn followed by a howling scream. She could hear all of it. Joints popping, bones cracking, tendons tearing, all between agonized screams. Inuyasha had more than easily overpowered the lesser demon and now one man lay at the other's feet a broken, bloodied mess, but not quite dead. No, death would have been too kind. "We're done here. Let's go Kagome." She kept her eyes on the ground, there were already puddles of blood littering the entrance to the cave and she wasn't sure she could stomach much more than that. She sidestepped around them the best she could but slipped, nearly falling when an object in the center of one of the pools caught her attention. A severed hand, the fingers had been snapped into an unnatural direction and tendrils of tissue and vein were all that remained where an attached arm should have been. She knew if she looked up, she would find plenty of other separated pieces.

Aside from the foul smell that now saturated the area, Inuyasha was entirely unbothered by the carnage he'd created around him. Parts of limbs lay about the cave entrance. A hand here, an arm there. He'd left Koga alive this time as a warning for anyone else that would dare lay their hands on his mate. Unbonded or not, she was his mate, his life. Looking at the scene before him though, there was a chance Koga would bleed out before the message could be passed along, but that wasn't a concern of his. He waited patiently for Kagome to tiptoe her way through the fields of blood. When she neared he knelt down to carry her as he always had. She locked her arms around his shoulders but flinched when he placed his hands on her thighs to secure her legs around his hips and support her while he ran. "I've got you." He reminded her with a soft growl. She responded by tightening her grip and burying her face against his shoulder.

In several long jumps they had left the mountain and were moving over the forest treetops. Both were silent, lost in their own thoughts. Kagome stared out over the horizon. She marveled for a moment how, if not for the steady rise and fall of the scenery, she wouldn't be able to tell when he landed; each powerful jump flowed smoothly into the next. If she were being honest, she preferred this over her bike any day. It was familiar, it was comfortable, and for a moment she felt like she could allow herself to relax.

He heard her small sigh and felt her arms loosen their death grip on his shoulders just a little. The subtle slowing of her heartbeat and breathing told him she had drifted to sleep. 'Stupid woman.' Though his demon blood had taken over, somehow he had managed to maintain consciousness but the toll it was taking on his body was becoming more apparent by the minute. 'If I lose consciousness like this, she's only traded one monster for another.' He shook the thoughts from his head. For now his inner demon was quiet and satisfied, he hoped it would stay that way. Pushing through the steadily growing ache in his muscles; he focused on getting them back to the Bone-Eaters Well.

Kagome awoke shrouded in darkness and wrapped in the familiar softness and warmth of the fire rat robe. A gentle weight lay across her and pulled her ever so slightly closer as she stirred awake. "Inu-"

"I'm here." He shushed. Kagome twisted in his arms to look at him in the dim moon light that shone into her room. His eyes were their usual beautiful gold color but lacked some of their normal warmth and hid hints of exhaustion. She buried her face against his chest while he gently raked his claws through her hair soothingly.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked. It wasn't often they were able to have peaceful moments together. She wanted to stay there just like this, quiet and comfortable in his arms, but she couldn't help the worry rising in her seeing the demon markings still vibrant across each cheek. 'Any moment, I could lose him.'

"Stupid," He stopped stroking her hair and lifted her head to look her in the eyes. "I should be asking you." She avoided looking at him directly as he studied her. His eyes narrowed on the darkened bruise now around her neck. There would be more bruises around her wrists. He dreaded to think what other damage could be covered by his robe right now.

Kagome raised a hand to his face; tracing her fingers lightly along the jagged purple lines."I'm sorry." She whispered when he caught her hand to move it away. Inuyasha responded with a growl, tightening his arm protectively around her. He left his fingers laced loosely with hers.

"Stupid," He said again. "I wasn't able to protect you. You got hurt because I was weak." He was stupid, he thought. Had he not been weak to his own desire this time, she would never have been hurt.

A thick silence fell between them for what seemed like an eternity. "Kagome." Inuyasha closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a steadying breath. Here, surrounded by his mate's scent, and with her safely in his arms he could gather the strength to tell her what he needed to before he lost himself. "I don't know if I can be around you much longer -" He stopped.'Salt?'

Tears quickly welled up in the corners of her eyes and blurred the edges of her vision. Somehow she knew it was coming. After all they had gone through, he was going to try to leave her now. Kagome fought to keep her voice calm and steady. "You … " She took a shaky breath. "You don't want to -"

Something like electricity surged through her, sending a pleasant shiver up her spine as Inuyasha silenced her with a gentle kiss. "Don't ever think something like that again, okay?." He told her, kissing away the tears that had spilled over as well before pulling her close against his chest and tucking her head under his chin.

'How can she think for a moment that I don't want to be with her?' Inuyasha nuzzled her hair and gently combed his claws through the silky strands once more. 'I was born for you.'

"You're supposed to be my mate. I want you to be my mate." He waited for her response, hyper aware of her every breath and heartbeat.

She pulled away from him, the secure hold he had on her giving away the moment she wanted to move. She changed a glance at him as she sat up on the edge of her bed half expecting angry, possessive growls and for him to capture her in his arms once more. "I don't know if I'm ready for something like that." She whispered. "Not after…"

Inuyasha sat up behind her realizing where her thoughts were. "I'm not asking for that, we don't have to be bonded yet."

"Isn't that the point of … mating?" It felt weird for her to say out loud.

"A part of it. For now, if you'll accept me, just a mark to finally say you are mine is more than enough." He carefully swept her hair from her shoulder, exposing the curve of her neck and fought back the angry growl that rose in him every time he caught sight of her injuries. Inuyasha laid a feather light kiss where he would mark her as his.

"Then I'm yours." He sent another electric shiver down her spine as he nipped at her skin. With one hand he laced their fingers together once more, with the other he pulled her close. Inuyasha bit down on her neck, his fangs piercing into her soft flesh. She gasped in surprise as a sharp pain shot through her. It happened so quickly she couldn't be sure it happened at all. When he released her, tiny rivers of blood flowed down her collar bone. Inuyasha captured them with his tongue and lapped at the mark he'd left on her skin, healing the punctures. As the wound closed, the faint outline of a symbol appeared in its place.

A wave of pride and satisfaction washed over Inuyasha to see his mark branded upon Kagome's skin. It was incomplete and would fade away over time until he fully claimed her. For now it was enough.

A/N: Writing this chapter gave me hell, I was stuck in more than one place multiple times, so I apologize for any weird tone shifts. My previous chapters had been written in single nights, but this one took several days to form anything of value. I hope you will enjoy.

Thank you to everyone who has read and left reviews, I love seeing them. Also I'm going to edit chapter 2 quick, because I stupidly started misspelling Sango as Songo after the first time.

Suikan - In fan fiction we usually refer to the top part of Inuyasha's Robe of the Fire Rat as his Haori but I've recently learned the more correct name based on research done on men's clothing from the time period, the more correct name would be Suikan.