Chapter Five -
You're Mine
The weeks seemed to fly by as fall approached. Already there was a slight chill in the air, causing great annoyance to a certain inu hanyou who was attempting to build a house.
Inuyasha grumbled to no one in particular as the leaves began to fall from the trees. I have to finish before winter, or we'll have to stay with Kaede-baba. I can't work in the snow.
Normally, the project would have barely taken a week for the young hanyou, but he felt like he needed to spend extra time on this. After all, it would be Kagome's house, and he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible, considering all of the conveniences she was leaving behind by staying in the feudal era.
Once every two weeks, Kagome would return to her time for a day or so to visit and stock up on things she had run out of. Ramen is a good example. She also told her family about the progress Inuyasha was making, and they decided that as long as she was ready, she could marry him whenever she wanted. After all, there were girls younger than her who were already married in his time.
Miroku and Sango had a pretty, yet small wedding, and stayed in the village where Kaede lived so they could be close to their friends. Inuyasha, however, was building his home away from the village, in the forest that had been named after him. He'd positioned it at the edge of the field where the well was, and within sight of the God Tree.
The design he was working on was a slightly odd combination of the village huts he was used to, and Kagome's house. This made for a strange set up, but he was determined to make it work.
Lifting a board onto his shoulder, Inuyasha was about to jump onto the roof when he caught a familiar scent. Forgetting about the board completely, he turned to see Kagome climbing out of the well, huffing with her very worn yet indestructible yellow backpack.
As Kagome stepped into the grass, she looked towards her soon-to-be home and the hanyou standing in front of it, smiling back at her. He looked very handsome in the clothes he now wore, she thought. Black hakama with a gray haori, as well as a loose black vest that made him look, at least in her eyes, more mature. He still refused to wear shoes, but that was the least of her worries.
"Inuyasha-chan!" she called out. "Come help me with my bag!"
"Baka," he said as he walked towards her. "You always have to pack so much that you can't carry it. If I wasn't here, you'd be helpless."
He swung the bag over one shoulder, and she smiled as she slipped her hand into his.
"Arigato, Yasha-chan," she said, and he led her back towards the half finished structure. "Sugoi! [cool!] It looks so good! You're a good builder."
"Keh. I guess." Was his response, and he dropped the bag on the ground. She watched him pick up the same board again, and then jump up to the roof, as he'd been about to do when she arrived.
"I'm going to go visit Sango-chan, alright?" she said. A gruff "whatever" met her ears, and she began walking towards the village.
As she walked off, Inuyasha paused, watching her. She's changed so much from when I first met her. She's so much stronger now. And yet, she's still the same stubborn girl. When did I get so fond of her?
* * *
The house was finished the day before the snow began to fall. Winter was spent furnishing the inside, a task that Kagome took upon herself. Many days Inuyasha would simply sit and watch as she hurried around putting things in places, most of which came from her time. Though the thought of her as his soon-to-be wife still made him blush, he was getting used to it, and watched somewhat possessively as she put the house in order.
It was spring when she decided that she was old enough. The wedding didn't take much planning; it was just going to be a small ceremony, and would be, for the most part, Western style. At least, as Western as she could get, seeing that the groom was a boy from the past who'd never even heard of America.
When the day arrived, the two of them prepared in their separate times, both far too nervous to see each other before the actual ceremony. Miroku insisted that Inuyasha wear the traditional wedding robes, despite the fact that he was only half human, and spent most of the morning fighting the stubborn hanyou's appearance. Inuyasha fumed the whole time, muttering that he felt like a stuffy noble man in the fancy clothes.
Before his departure through the well, the houshi attempted to give him some woman advice about the wedding night, and was rewarded with a rather large bump on the head. Cheeks flushed from embarrassment, Inuyasha jumped into the well, if anything just to get away from Miroku.
Muttering about how he could never battle youkai in his current clothing, Inuyasha emerged from the well house, and was immediately greeted by Sota.
"Inuyasha-oniisan! Whoa, you look awesome!"
"Keh," the hanyou muttered, though he was relieved for the annoyance. It kept his mind off of what was coming, making him less nervous.
"Oneesan is getting ready with Mama now, but she'll be ready soon! Come with me!"
Inuyasha allowed the boy to pull him towards the God Tree. His eyes widened as he took in how nice everything looked; it may have been a small ceremony, but the Higurashi family still went to great lengths to make it special. He tugged slightly at his robe, wishing it were all over with so he could get back in his normal clothes.
"Ah, Inuyasha!"
He turned, and gasped. Walking towards him with her mother was Kagome, dressed in the prettiest clothes he'd ever seen. Her hair was done up in traditional Japanese style, and she wore a shiromuku, a fancy white kimono that covered all of her body except her neck and head. She's so pretty, he found himself thinking.
"Now, shall we begin?" Mrs. Higurashi asked sweetly.
The ceremony was short and sweet, and took place right in front of the God Tree. Throughout the entire thing, the same thought was going through both of their heads: I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
When it was over, Kagome went inside to change her clothes, and Inuyasha stood by the tree, looking up at it. We've been through a lot, haven't we, God Tree? He thought. You were my home for fifty years, and now, you've watched me start a new life. As he stood there, Mrs. Higurashi walked up to him.
"It's pretty, isn't it, Inuyasha?"
He glanced over at her to see her staring up at the tree as well. "Yeah…"
"Inuyasha, I don't expect her to visit us constantly. I want her to create her life there with you, and not worry about this time. Please promise you'll take care of her."
He nodded his head once. "I always will."
Kagome then emerged from the house. He was surprised to see her wearing an actual kimono instead of her normal modern clothes, and smiled slightly, knowing she'd finally accepted that she would be living in his time and wanted to fit in.
"Let's go, Kagome," he said. She hugged her mother, before taking his hand and departing through the well.
* * *
It was dusk when they arrived, and the first thing Inuyasha did was tear off those stupid robes and put his regular clothes back on. Kagome started a fire as it grew darker, and they sat beside each other looking into the flames. Neither said anything, but both were content to be silent.
After a long time, Inuyasha shifted slightly. "Kagome?"
"Yes, Inuyasha?"
He hesitated, before saying, "I'm going to mark you now."
He waited for her nod of approval, before shifting to sit on his knees looking at her. He gently turned her to sit facing him, and just looked at her face for a moment. He sighed.
"Kagome…"
Shifting yet again, he pulled her into his arms, startling her. He then let her lean back on him, his legs on either side of her body, before raising his hand to trace her neck with his fingers.
"Gomen, Kagome."
With a quick movement, he cut a crescent shape in the side of her neck, making her gasp. He then flicked his claws and made a shallow cut on his hand, and pressed the two cuts together.
"Inuyasha…what are you doing?" Kagome asked, bewildered.
"I'm marking you, like I said I would," he replied, proud that he wasn't nearly as embarrassed to talk about it now. "My blood is sealing over yours, so you will always smell like me. The cut will close in a second."
A moment later, he withdrew his hand to reveal a crescent shaped scar on her neck. Once again, he had used the sign of his family, for he really knew no other mark to make.
"Now you're mine forever," he said softly. "No other youkai can claim you."
She turned her body slightly, and pressed her hand to the back of his head, pushing their faces together in a soft kiss. Their first kiss had been just a short time ago, and had been very timid. Even now that she knew she was his, she felt shy about showing any affection to him, and she knew he felt the same way. They were still young; it would take some time before the shyness went away.
Sitting by the fire kissing her hanyou as he gently held her in his arms, Kagome sighed mentally, content. When the kiss was broken, she reached up and gently took his necklace in her hands. The moment she touched it, the beads disappeared.
"K…Kagome…?" he stuttered.
"When those were first put on you, it was to keep you from hurting me," she said. "Now, I doubt I'll have to worry about that. I want you to be free, Inuyasha. I don't want you tied down to a necklace anymore."
He hugged her closer. "Arigato, Kagome."
* * *
A/N – I actually did research for this chapter. You have no IDEA how hard it is to find any information on traditional Japanese wedding clothes for men, let alone pictures. Since I found myself unable to describe Inuyasha's wedding clothes, I drew him wearing it so you can get an idea of what he looked like (and why he hated it so much). I had to put some spaces in the URL so Fanfic.net would show it, so delete the spaces after all of the "/" slashes. Go here to view it –
http:// invisionfree.com/ forums/ The_Nuthouse/ index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=342
Don't worry, this isn't the end yet! Still more to come!
