Inuyasha: Home Sweet

*Disclaimer: * I do not own Inuyasha or any of its affiliations.

A/N: Thank you so much for all your great reviews!!!!!!! I honestly did not expect as much as I got… well, I wasn't expecting any at all. But I do have a favor: please please please read my other fic Shadow of Destiny [Inuyasha] because it is a lot better than this story. My other actually has a plot and I know where it's going to go. I honestly don't like this fic, but I'm glad y'all do. But still. Shadow of Destiny is a lot better.

Many, many, many thanks to saiya-gurl for giving me the inspiration for this chapter. I left out the baby because I didn't like that idea so soon in the story. And I cannot forget inuyashaluvver… thanks thanks thanks!

Sorry I haven't updated as soon as I'd've liked to. But there's been a death in my family and not only did I not feel like writing but also we've been very busy and the phone lines have been busy too so I couldn't post anything either since I don't have cable modem.

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Inuyasha was nervously pacing up and down outside the hut. He was deep in thought, muttering to himself, stroking his chin. He was startled out of his musings by a hand on his shoulder. Inuyasha turned to meet Kagome. She reached up and gave him a sweet and swift kiss.

"Inuyasha," she said, after breaking the kiss, "is there something wrong?"

"N-no!" he replied, looking away. "There- there's nothing wrong with me… why?"

Kagome shrugged. "You just seem to be a little tense today, that's all."

"Oh, that," Inuyasha muttered. He didn't reply further and Kagome left to play with Shippo.

In the past few weeks that Kagome had come to stay permanently in Feudal Japan, she and Inuyasha had done little more than sneak kisses when they thought no one was looking and embraces at night. Somehow, Inuyasha did not want Miroku or Sango to know, not that their relationship was a secret.

'I know what's wrong,' Inuyasha thought. 'Kagome's in heat.' The fact may not have mattered before him and Kagome had gotten together, but now, with their new relationship, Inuyasha was worried about what he was going to do when his primordial instincts took over.

Inuyasha took Miroku aside after a while. They weren't going shard hunting that day and had decided to take a day off instead.

"Is anything the matter?" Miroku asked, after Inuyasha had dragged him deep into the heart of the forest. Inuyasha glanced around to make sure no one was listening and then turned to Miroku.

"Listen, monk," Inuyasha whispered to him. "I'm going away for a while. Just a couple days. I'll be back after that. But in the meantime… don't tell anyone where I'm going and why."

"Okay… but I don't know why," Miroku hinted.

"You don't need to know," Inuyasha said, blushing slightly.

Miroku, noticing the blush, made a shrewd guess. "This doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you and Kagome are together, now does it?"

"How did you know?" Inuyasha demanded, even as his blush deepened. Miroku shook his head sadly.

"Did you honestly think it was a secret," he said under his breath.

"Anyway," Inuyasha said, getting the subject out of uncharted territory, "don't tell. Or you'll be seeing this fist-" he thrust a closed fist within a centimeter of Miroku's nose "- in your face."

"Heh heh, I understand," Miroku said, edging away from Inuyasha's fist. "I won't tell anyone where you are leaving. And you say you will be back within a few days?"

"Yes," Inuyasha nodded. "Now go! And remember not to tell… or else." He waved a menacing fist.

Miroku fairly ran to the village.

**

'Now, why could Inuyasha wanting to be leaving?' Miroku thought to himself as he walked from the edge of the forest to the village. 'What need does he have to get away from Kagome? Unless…' A knowing smile crept onto the monk's face. 'Unless Kagome is in "heat".'

"What are you laughing at, lord monk?" Sango asked, as she almost collided into the spaced-out monk.

Miroku snapped back into reality. He searched for an excuse, remembering Inuyasha's threats, and found one in Sango. "I am smiling that I have the pleasure to run into such a beautiful lady," Miroku answered smoothly, bowing. Sango looked at him suspiciously, but Miroku straightened and left, steering clear of Sango.

She stood looking after his robed figure moving away for a few minutes until she realized it. 'He didn't touch me…' she thought. The thought rendered her speechless and she did not even call out to Miroku. When she regained her wits, Miroku was gone.

**

"Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome wondered at the evening meal. "I haven't seen him all day, except for in the morning."

Miroku choked slightly on his soup but went on eating calmly.

"That's a good question," Shippo agreed. "Come to think of it, he hasn't done anything to me today since I haven't seen him!" The pup looked happy for a minute.

"Do not worry, Kagome," Sango reassured her. "Inuyasha is strong, half-demon though he may be. I am confident he can protect himself."

"I'm not worried about that," Kagome said softly. "I just want to know… why he left."

By this time, Miroku, who had been choking on his soup more and more as he ate and whose face was blue, couldn't take it any more. He burst out coughing, struggling to breathe. Shippo thumped him on the back but he still coughed.

"Lord Miroku!" Sango exclaimed. "Are you all right?" Miroku coughed a little more but then resumed his usual position calmly.

"Thank you for inquiring," he replied with a small cough. "I am doing fine now."

"What made you choke like that?" Kagome asked. "Usually you can gulp down food no problem." Miroku looked uncomfortable and murmured something incomprehensible to the rest of the group. "Wait…" Kagome said suspiciously. "This wouldn't have anything to do with where Inuyasha went, would it?" Miroku flushed and turned away. "It does!" Kagome said, jumping up. "You know where he went and why, don't you!?"

"I might have some little knowledge of that," Miroku said in a tiny voice. Kagome crouched down to face him.

"Tell me where he went."

"I do not know, I honestly do not know. He said he would be going away by himself for a while, he'd be back in a couple days. I think he's still in the forest…. But do not tell him I told you. His fist would be in my face if he found out."

But Kagome wasn't listening anymore. She had already stood up and was at the door. "See you later," she said to her friends. Then she was out the door.

**

'Why would he leave?' Kagome thought as she rode her bicycle into the forest. 'I thought since we were… together… he would stick around more often.' Out loud she called out. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Inuyasha, where are you?!?" Kagome rode deeper and deeper into the forest until she spotted a flash of red cloth on the branches of a tall tree.

"Inuyasha, is that you?" Kagome yelled to him. The swatch of red cloth moved, disappeared, and then the entire red-clothed body was in front of her.

"Kagome," he said through gritted teeth, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to find you," she replied innocently.

"Go."

"No! I'm going to stay here until you tell me what's wrong!"

"Kagome, this isn't the time to argue," he insisted. "Now run, quickly, get away from me!"

Kagome looked at him with teary eyes. "Inuyasha… what did I do? What happened?"

"It's not you," he answered, still through gritted teeth. He spoke as if the action of speaking was an effort. It was. His sensitive nostrils filled with Kagome's scent, he was drunk on the scent alone, his instincts raged inside him. His fingers screamed to touch Kagome, to roam her soft, pale skin. The way she looked, with those unusual but beautiful light eyes and dark hair blowing behind her, made him ache to gather her in his arms and perform the act of love on her. His nerves were on fire now, charged and tense. His grip on himself was loosening; he could feel his instincts claim victory over his mind, his senses.

"Kagome," he whispered urgently. "I don't know what I'm going to do to you… I might rape you… it's time for you to mate and I can't control myself…." Kagome looked confused for a moment and then she smiled tremblingly.

"Then take me, Inuyasha," she whispered.

"If I do that," he muttered, "you know that you will have to be mine… forever?"

"Nothing would be better," she replied softly.

"It's not that simple!" Inuyasha burst out in frustration. "You must also become hanyou…"

"And?"

Inuyasha growled. "You know how disrespected I am just because I'm hanyou. I can't let you go through the same thing."

Kagome stepped up to him. "It doesn't matter," she whispered earnestly. "I will do whatever it takes…to be with you."

Inuyasha grabbed her in his arms and gently sank his teeth into her neck.

"What are you doing?" gasped Kagome.

"Putting my mark on you," came the muffled reply. Pulling back slightly, Inuyasha grabbed her right forearm. Kagome could see the traces of her blood on his mouth. He extended a claw and quickly drew a long, deep gash across down the underside of her arm. Just as he finished her arm he drew the same claw across the underside of his own left forearm. Now both had identical gashes. Inuyasha pressed his bloody arm against Kagome's.

Kagome gasped out in pain. Where the two arms met the blood seemed to turn into acid and it burned their skin. Blood fell to the ground, where it sizzled. But what transfixed Kagome was that the spot where their arms touched there seemed to be a slight glowing. The glowing got brighter and brighter until it blinded Kagome. She cried out in pain but in the same instant it was over. Inuyasha pulled his arm from Kagome's and looked at it. The cut was healing rapidly, leaving only the faintest trace of a scar. Kagome looked at her arm.

The same thing happened.

"Does this mean that I'm… I'm hanyou… too?" Kagome whispered. Inuyasha nodded. But that was the end of his consciousness; Kagome was hanyou too, they could mate now….

Inuyasha pushed Kagome down, on top of her. He kissed her deeply, passionately, even more so than all the other times they had kissed. And then Inuyasha commenced performing the act of love on his mate for life, Kagome.

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Another chapter finished. I would have turned the last part into a lemon… but I decided against it. Mostly because I can't write lemons. This is about the most citrusy I get.

I'm thinking about adding some action/adventure into here, what do you think? Please review, and as always, give me ideas. I will properly credit you!