Disclaimer : I don't own InuYasha or any of it's characters. I do, however, own my Zippo and the plotline of this story, so there.



Author's Note : Well, thanks to everyone who reviewed, and/or reported the plagarism. The story has since been removed from FF.net. I hate to do it to someone who was new to fanfiction, but plagarism by anyone is wrong, no matter how young and inexperienced.

Now, as a present to my reviewers, here is an extra long, complete chapter for your reading pleasure. Don't forget to review when you are done . . . and as always, you have my biggest thanks for your support and love. You guys are great, every single one of you.

Oh . . . and no worries yet about the story ending. I still have loose ends to tie up, so there will be at least three to four more chapters, I'm sure : ) So keep enjoying : )





Chapter 14 - Bonded



InuYasha could only stare at Kagome, his golden eyes wide with confusion and sorrow. How could Kagome think he didn't trust her? He trusted her with his life . . . his very soul! His thoughts were brought to a halt as she began to speak again.

"You run from me every time something like that happens. Do you think I don't understand? Maybe I don't, not totally, but . . . god damn it, InuYasha, I love you! Why won't you let me help you with this? Do you think I'm not strong enough . . . that I can't handle it? I'm your MATE! I accept everything about you . . . including that demon side that you are so afraid of! I KNOW you would never hurt me! Can't you at least trust me to know what's in my heart!?" She sobbed, hugging herself as she turned her back to him again. "Or maybe you're wishing now that we weren't mated . . . I don't know anymore. If that is what you are thinking, then talk to Sesshoumaru. He can tell you everything you need to know." With that, she walked away, striding determinedly back towards the village, wiping her tears from her face angrily.

"That damn . . . obnoxious . . . BAKA!" she growled, her eyes glued to the ground before her as she walked. "Why can't he just trust me? He always runs away . . . I can understand why he's afraid of himself . . . hell, I'm slightly afraid of him when he's like that . . . but for crying out loud, why can't he just let me help him?" She was unaware of Shippo until she felt his presence on her shoulder.

"Kagome . . ." he began hesitantly, then stopped. He still didn't understand everything that had been going on . . . nobody would tell him, and when he asked they told him he was still too young to fully comprehend it.

"Yes Shippo?" Kagome murmured.

"Why are you so mad at InuYasha? Did he hurt you?" Kagome laughed slightly at this, her tone bitter.

"Only my heart, Shippo. Only my heart." She paused before continuing. "InuYasha and I are mated now, Shippo . . . but he still doesn't accept that I'm stronger then he thinks I am. He doesn't think I can handle his demon side . . . and he's afraid of it hurting me."

"InuYasha would NEVER hurt you Kagome . . . not in that way."

"I know that Shippo . . . but I don't think he does. And that hurts . . . it hurts my heart. There's nothing I can do about it, which is what makes it worse." They fell to silence, walking slowly through the sun speckled forest.



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InuYasha stared off after Kagome long after she had dissapeared from his sight. He started when his brother, who still stood nearby, broke the silence.

"She is right, you know. You do not trust her with all of what you are. That is no way to take a mate." He turned to move off, only to find InuYasha in front of him.

"What did she mean, to talk to you if I was thinking I no longer wanted her as my mate? Talk to me, you arrogant bastard. What don't I know?" Sesshoumaru looked at him solemnly for a moment before answering.

"Answer me this first, dearest brother of mine . . ." he said finally, with just a note of sarcasm. "Do you intend to make her your mate? And trust her with everything you are . . . both demon and human?" InuYasha snorted, crossing his arms across his chest.

"She already is my mate." Sesshoumaru sighed, holding onto his patience with his hanyou brother by a thin thread.

"No, she is not. She is your claimed . . . your mate - to - be. You are not mated yet. You have mated, yes, but you are not mated to her." He shook his head. "The girl was right . . . about many things. You know nearly nothing about your heritage." He noticed InuYasha's rather pointed glare at him, and his golden eyes narrowed back. "Yes, I realize I am at fault in that . . . the young miko . . . Kagome, already made that point to me." InuYasha's eyes widened as his brother admitted that he had a fault . . . and that he had been talking to Kagome.

"When did you talk with Kagome?" he murmured. Sesshoumaru snorted softly.

"She and I had a . . . discussion . . . just yesterday. When you disappeared." He shifted his stance, then came to a decision. "You still have not answered my question."

"I would have no other, Sesshoumaru. I love her . . . with all the human heart my mother gave me."

"Then we have much to discuss. Follow." Sesshoumaru began to walk slowly into the forest. Growling in annoyance, InuYasha followed.



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The moon rose, full and clear in the black velvet of the night sky, the stars glittering coldly against the backdrop of black. Kagome swam silently in the still pond, her thoughts clear for the first time in days. She had not seen InuYasha at all since the clearing . . . she wasn't sure whether she was happy or sad at that fact. She flipped over onto her back, floating there gently as she stared up at the night sky.

"I love him so much . . . what if he's changed his mind?"

"What if I didn't?" Kagome sputtered and went under as InuYasha's voice startled her. She rose back to the surface, gasping for breath as she flipped her hair back out of her face. She was just in time to catch a flash of white as InuYasha dove into the water as well. Her face flushed as she noticed his clothes on the bank of the pool . . . meaning he was just as bare as she was. She squeaked as she felt him brush by her leg before he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back into his water slicked chest. She sighed and relaxed, feeling his heart beating against her shoulder blades.

"You didn't answer me, Kagome. What if I didn't change my mind?" he whispered, his face in her hair as he inhaled her scent.

"Then I would still love you just the same . . . and be very relieved," she replied softly, before squirming around until she faced him. His golden eyes were nearly molten with desire and love, and she whimpered softly as he bent down to capture her lips with his own. She melted against him, feeling his arms tighten around her, bringing her closer to him. He broke the kiss gently, leaning his forehead against her own as he stared into her eyes.

"Do you still want me, Kagome? Or did I break any chance I had at happiness with you by my side?"

"You baka . . . I can not live without you. I love you too much . . . I would die were anything to happen to you," she whispered. "I want nothing more then to be with you . . . always."

They swam back to shore slowly, stopping when their feet hit soil. They faced each other, unashamed at their lack of clothing for the first time since they had originally mated.

"This will hurt for a bit, Kagome . . . and it may disgust you . . . having to drink my blood, I mean," he started, only to be silenced when Kagome placed a finger on his lips.

"InuYasha . . . I'll admit it's a little freaky, but I'm not disgusted. It's a part of you . . . and as for the pain, I've dealt with worse." She gathered her hair up silently, baring an expanse of neck and shoulder. Looking up at him calmly, she lay a gentle hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating. "I want this . . . more than life itself."

"Than I, InuYasha, an inu-hanyou of the house of the West, wish for you to be my mate . . . to live your life by my side, never to be seperated by distance or time. What I have is yours for the asking . . . I shall be your protector, your provider, your love for as long as we both shall live. I bind my soul, my heart, and my life to you with this act. Will you, Kagome, have me?"

"I, Kagome Higurashi, of the Higurashi clan of the Sunset Shrine, do accept thee, InuYasha, as my mate. I will remain at your side, never to be seperated by distance or time. All that I have, all that I am, I give to you freely, to do with as you will. I shall be your strength, your heart, your love for as long as we both shall live. I give to you my soul, my heart, and my life with this act and accept all that you give me in return. I would have no other."

Sighing in relief, InuYasha drew back slightly, bringing a hand up over his heart. He winced slightly as he drew a claw over the flesh, opening a deep gash that bled freely.

Kagome's eyes fastened on that wound, the blood black in the night air against the smooth expanse of his chest. It drew her . . . she stepped closer to him, her eyes locked upon it.

"Then take of my blood and be bonded with me, heart of my heart, life of my life. Let none come between us with this act," InuYasha whispered. He started as Kagome hesitantly licked at the wound, her tongue warm against the skin cooled by the night air. His head fell back in ecstasy when her mouth closed over it, gently pulling the blood from the wound. It was like nothing he had experience before . . . there was a dark eroticism to her taking in his blood that he couldn't ignore.

Murmuring a soft apology in her ear, he opened a similiar wound on her neck before bending to lap at it gently. There was a jolting sensation as he took in her blood and he closed his mouth over the flesh, drawing her essence into himself. He could feel his youki reaching out to wrap around her, just as her miko energy was wrapping around him, merging together to create one united being.

Suddenly, like a starburst in his head, he could feel her in his mind, her love and joy brushing over his mind like a feather against his skin. He returned it, reaching out to her mentally so that she could feel his overwhelming love and protection of her. He felt her sigh against his chest, relaxing still further into his arms as she released the wound he had made, pressing her cheek against his flesh as she felt him in her mind. He cast a final flick of his tongue over the wound in her neck, feeling it close with a bit of surprise. Had this bond done more than just mentally link them?

They stood there for some time, lost in the feel of each other both physically and mentally, as the moon cast a benevolent light over the couple still standing in the water.

Sesshoumaru sighed from his place not far from where he watched over the silent pair. Kouga also stood nearby, having left his shards back in his cave so that Kagome would not be able to sense him. He sighed slightly, shifting against the tree he leaned on, staring absently at the oblivious couple.

"Mourning your loss of the young miko?" Sesshoumaru murmured. Kouga snorted.

"She was never mine . . . she's always been his in her heart. I've just been deluding myself," he replied quietly. "InuYasha has always been willing to give his life for her . . . I am just glad he finally admitted it. I hated to see Kagome in any pain . . . and he has caused her much of that."

"Yes . . . he is a rather stubborn hanyou, isn't he," Sesshoumaru answered wryly. "She will be good for him . . . she is well worthy of the honor."

"And what exactly are you doing here? I thought you hated him," Kouga asked quietly. Sesshoumaru snorted softly before leaping from his perch to land silently nearby.

"I did. But the young miko has made me respect her many a time . . . and coupled with . . . other things, has made me realize that not all humans are as useless and weak as I had originally thought. She would give anything for a friend . . . even her life, if it was necessary. I needs must respect that . . . and she is rather a delightful human to talk with as well. Her influence has made me rethink many things . . . including my rather misplaced hatred of InuYasha." He turned to walk silently away, the wolf demon following him, leaving the newly mated couple to their peace. Both feared it would not last long.



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Kagome and InuYasha returned to Kagome's hut later that evening, still lost in the newly formed bond between them. Settling inside, they quickly fell into bed, the exhaustion of the past couple of days finally catching up with them. InuYasha lay on his back with Kagome tucked up to his side, her head resting on his chest. Sighing, he ran a clawed hand lightly through her hair as he contemplated how to begin what he wished to say.

"Kagome . . ." he began softly.

"Yes, Inu?" she replied, shifting slightly to look up at him. A hand on her head stopped her.

"I do trust you . . . it is myself that I don't trust. I'm so scared of that side of me . . . but I think you are right. I don't think that side of me would ever hurt you. I lost control during that fight with Kouga . . . but I know why. I felt threatened . . . threatened that Kouga would take my heart from me, that I would lose you. That side of me came out to protect you . . . which means that it would never harm you. I know that now . . . I'm just sorry that I didn't realize it before. You're my light, Kagome . . . my heart . . . I couldn't bear to lose you. And I think that side of me knows that as well as I do . . . it is a part of me, after all. I just . . . I just wanted you to know that."

"Thank you," she whispered, her arm draped across his stomach tightening slightly.

"It's only the truth, Kagome. I love you . . . and I will never let you go, not now, not ever." His arms tightened around her slightly. "We still have to face Naraku . . . and I don't want him trying to do with us what he did before. We have to trust each other completely . . . I think I understand that now, and accept it. I do trust you . . . with everything."

"As I do you, InuYasha. With everything." Sighing, relaxed in each other's presence, the young miko and her hanyou drifted off into peaceful dreams, watched over by a benevolent moon and the silent stars.