AN: Wow, thank you guys for all the reviews. And thank you for the nomination!! Believe it or not, all of this encourages me in my professional writing as well. With this such a niche place (fandoms of older anime/mangas) it inspires me to keep going since I can be read and appreciated here.

That said, go read my book!! Growing Pains by A.A. Achibane.

The place was abandoned. Hut after hut they passed was barely standing. Dilapidated buildings and overgrown brush, no one had been to this village in years.

And this was where Inuyasha was taking her.

This was what he meant about no one hearing her. He had slowed as soon as they entered the village but had been running hard for half an hour. The others would never find them now.

Now at a survivable speed, she jumped off his back. There was no point in running, so she didn't; putting some distance between them while walking at his side. Apparently, he found this hilarious. "You have a problem with me?"

"Wha…? I have tons of problems with you!!"

He grabbed her bicep and led her to a shack at the edge of the town. It was the only one that had been cared for. Her heart sped up at the prospect of being saved by another person but that was dashed quickly. If someone did live here they would only be at risk.

The hut was empty anyway; a few nice comforts like a bed roll and wood for a fire were there. She was busy looking around when Inuyasha came up behind her. His mouth was at her neck, nuzzling, while he ran his claws up the side of her arm. "Inuyasha… what is this place?"

He didn't stop, keeping his mouth on her neck as he spoke. "This was where my mother and I lived before she died."

She tensed because Inuyasha rarely ever talked about his mother. "You...lived here?"

He didn't answer her but he didn't need to. The place was clean and taken care of. How many nights did Inuyasha sleep here? And when did he come here? It wasn't often (given the condition of the place) but he'd been here a few times recently.

Reaching around, he started to loosen the tie on her pants and she smacked his hands. It didn't do anything more than make him chuckle, vibrations tickling her back. When he pushed her pants to her feet, she leapt from him and his hold. Her hands shook as she held her top together, but it didn't deter him in the slightest.

"Why are you afraid, Mate?"

Every step he took closer she stepped back. "Don't you understand what you've done?? You mated us! And you didn't even ask!"

"Oh I asked. And your entire being said 'YES'!"

"But… but what about Inuyasha? You didn't ask him!!"

Her back hit the wall and he caged her in with his arms and body before she had a chance to go elsewhere. "I am Inuyasha."

"You're half of him. Did you ask the Hanyou or the human side? No, because no way would they agree to mating with me."

"Both of those fools would applaud me for taking you."

He towered over her, making her feel small and weak. So she stood as tall as possible, getting up on her toes and pushing him back a little. "What about me, huh? What about my choice?"

"You offered up your hindquarters to me like a dog in heat!!"

"I thought it was a dream!!"

The smirk he wore at that had her concerned. "Why is that exactly? Why did you think it was a dream?" Her silence did nothing, the little bit of 'win' she had got taken away as she shrunk and he loomed. "So, how many times have you dreamed about me, Mate? Ten? Forty? A thousand? Is it just me or does the Hanyou and human make an appearance?" She could melt into the floor any second now and it wouldn't make a difference. Because he wasn't about to stop. "Is that why you begged for more when I fucked you hard?"

"Stop! Just stop!!"

Inuyasha grabbed her face and wrenched it up from the floor. His mouth smothered hers and she whimpered against it. Kagome had to take deep breaths when he released her, ragged from too much being thrown on her at once. And that included Inuyasha's lust as he pulled her hands off her top and spread it wide for his tongue to make a trail.

With nothing else to hold, her hands fisted the hair on top of his head, following it as he went down. Now on his knees, his tongue stopped at the waistband of her panties.

"Inuyasha…"

His claws ripped them to pieces in a heartbeat. "I don't know why you wear these pointless things."

She needed to focus. To keep him focused on the issue at hand. And she was still busy putting the pieces together. "That's what Koga was talking about? He smelled you, the mark you put on me?"

"That, and my come still inside you."

"Your WHAT?!"

"It lasts for days. Didn't you know that, Doctor?"

He pulled her top the rest of the way off and cut the straps of her bra but she was numb to it all at the moment. "So that's why the Hanyou attacked? Because you bonded us together? He couldn't even help himself…"

"The Hanyou attacked that shitty wolf because the son of a bitch knew you were mated and he still tried to kiss you! There's something seriously wrong with that asshole!"

"But Inuyasha doesn't know! He doesn't…"

Her mind slipped and her words fumbled as Inuyasha started licking the inside of her thighs. "I think you need another mark, right here."

Using her hold on his hair, she pulled his head back and disconnected it from her skin. "One was enough! Why do you keep biting me!!!"

"Because you're mine and I want everyone to know it. Especially you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

His answer was to grab her thigh and lift, her foot now dangling over his shoulder blade. It felt like her clit and lips were swollen, in desperate need of attention that she never knew was needed. Until Inuyasha's rough tongue lapped at them. The leg that held her up threatened to give out, shaking and getting Inuyasha's attention. His hands gripped her hips and held her both up and still, not stopping for even a second.

Close to pulling his hair out and falling to the floor, Inuyasha stopped and lifted her up. He was as gentle as possible when he tossed her to the bed roll. But the distance was good and the pain woke her up a little.

"We can't do this."

"We already have. Many times."

He was coming closer, moving more like a cat after it's prey. And he was stripping, his muscles contracting and bulging as he moved and making her sweat. His hands dipped to his pants and she realized that she was staring. And drooling.

"This isn't you. It's like...cheating!"

"Cheating?!" He roared.

"Yes. Because the Hanyou would never be okay with this. He would never...pick me."

He flopped to her, crawling over her and splitting her legs with his knees to lay between them. "I chose you and that's all that matters now."

Everything hurt, because he didn't get it. The selfish idiot didn't understand what he did was the worst thing he could have ever done. Even though it did nothing, she took out her anger and pain with striking whatever she could of him with her fists until he caught them. Now held captive, all she had left were hot tears streaming down her face.

"You've….linked us...forever! He'll hate me...he doesn't...love me…" He tried to wipe her tears but she just pushed his hands away hard. "You did this...you did it...without asking….without caring. Why? How can you...be so cruel!!"

This time, he didn't try to wipe her tears. He just grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. Just like he had the first night. "I did it because I love you. I love you, the Hanyou loves you, even the damn human loves you. If it wasn't true then the damn mating wouldn't have worked!! I would have never came to you, you would have never spread your legs for me, and the marks on your neck and breast would have evaporated the next day! Didn't Sango teach you this shit?!"

She did, but she left out a few important details it seems. "What about me? What about what I wanted?"

"You think those dreams were just a figment of your lonely mind? No, it was the mate bond getting you ready for me."

"But...Sango said mate bonds were just a myth. A made up story told to little kids to scare them or something?"

"A demon hunter wouldn't know about demon's souls now would she?" That made sense. "It's not a myth it's just rare. You're my miracle," he nuzzled her cheek with his nose as he spoke, "and if you'd accept it, you'd find it's more than just quivering thighs when I lick you. Which reminds me…"

His face disappeared, just as she was starting to understand. But she still had questions. And one of them turned out to be why was his cock in her face. He was holding her legs apart and licking her folds before she could ask anything more. He parted her skin and she parted her mouth. He licked her clit and she licked his tip. Then he sucked and so did she. By the time he had his clawed fingers carefully pumping inside her, she had his dick deep in her throat.

She could feel his groans against her skin and she couldn't stop herself from moaning around his cock. And she was coming, her walls squeezing his fingers while she sucked hard on his tip. Kagome's mouth was flooded with hot liquid that had a bitter taste. So she swallowed quickly before she finished her orgasm. This time, she hadn't felt Inuyasha mark her, only feeling his fangs as he removed them from her inner thigh. He rolled off onto the floor next to her, in a haze just like she was. She still lifted her leg, turning it so she could see her new 'mark'. It was bloody and swollen, but only stung a little. Kagome wondered if he intentionally avoided her femoral artery or just got lucky?

Curious, she studied the mark on her breast now. Lifting and twisting, she found what looked like a bruise in the spot. It was light purple and shaped like a crescent moon. Almost as though only his bottom jaw pierced her, creating a half moon. But it was more than that, the small shape was the same size as Inuyasha's mouth but didn't match it other than that. It was magic; demon magic that made it look the way it did. Causing it to match the symbol of the dog demon. She could only assume the one on her neck looked the same.

Breast in her hand (studying her mark) was how Inuyasha found her. Holding himself on his side over her, he watched her with a cheeky smile. "If you like it so much, I'll cover you in them."

She frowned back. "If you're so intent on people knowing, then why do you put them in spots no one but you will see?"

"The first one is for everyone. Just wear your hair up. And the others… they're for me." He winked down at her. "What did you think of that?"

He was talking about the sex they just had. Her cheeks burned at the memory, being forward and crazy and putting his cock in her mouth. "I… I don't really know what came over me…"

"I do," he said, tracing the mark on her breast, "the more you accept the bond, the more stuff like that is going to happen."

"Stuff?"

"You'll just...know. Know what I want just as I know what you want."

"And you know what I want now?"

His smile met her skin, leaning over and licking the mark he'd been tracing. Kagome's body tensed and tightened, a wave of ecstasy through her that was short but still made her moan loudly. "You want me to make use of this place and our isolation. Which is good because I really wanna hear you scream, Kagome."

oOo

For a moment, she thought it was all a dream again when she woke up alone. Having fallen asleep curled around Inuyasha, loving the feeling of her skin pressed into his toned and smooth back: it was disorienting. Waking up in a strange place, naked, and sore were her proof of last night's reality.

As quickly as she could, she dressed. Her bra and panties were ruined, leaving her to 'free-ball' under her robes. Kagome really hoped there was a stream close by, any minute now her body was going to dump what remained of Inuyasha's load into her pants. And it was going to be a lot as many times as he came inside her.

Keeping her thighs together as she walked was both awkward and painful, her new mark still tender. A fog wrapped around the small, desolate village, making it hard to see much. Yet, she still knew Inuyasha wasn't close somehow.

Heading in the only direction that made sense, she kept her eyes and ears open for water. When she found it, she quickly twisted her hair up on top of her head and stripped; crouching into the shallow water to hastily clean herself. Kagome didn't know how much it mattered. The Hanyou most likely woke up next to her, in the buff same as her. It didn't take a medical degree to figure out that scenario. And it explained why she was alone.

Tears threatened again, remembering how deeply screwed up all of this was. How freaked out was the Hanyou? How pissed off was he? Her heart stopped and a sob caught in her throat. What if… he woke up next to her and ran to Kikyo? To beg her for forgiveness and help in finding a way to break the bond?

The cold water and her chilly heart made her shiver. A noise made her jump, standing in the middle of the creek in all her glory only to lock eyes with the Hanyou. They stared hard at one another and his eyes drifted lower before blood filled his cheeks and he turned away. Kagome, however, felt no shame since he'd already seen, touched, and licked every inch of her.

And even if he hadn't, he'd seen her naked before a few times.

His reaction only confused her more, leaving the water and dressing at a moderate pace. The demon had said the mark on her neck was for everyone but with her robes on, that spot was covered even with her hair up. She still found herself doing as he asked; leaving her hair piled on top of her head as she walked, fully dressed again, past Inuyasha.

"The others will be wondering where we are." She whispered as she passed.

"Um… about that…" She froze, not sure what he would say next but knowing it would break her heart. "Why are we here?"

Shifting her weight, she tried to dispel some of the ache her body was beginning to feel. "What do you remember?"

"I'm...I'm not sure." She turned to him, the clueless look on his face made her regret it though. "Did I really beat up Koga or did I dream that?"

He said it with a chuckle, like it was a simple fight amongst boys. Like it had been a game. "You did. Nearly killed him."

He sobered after that. Looking at her thoughtfully. "Well he deserved it. Trying to kiss you when you're clearly not interested…"

"Who says I'm not?" She was pushing it and it was bad. A terrible idea. But she couldn't stop the words before they flew out of her mouth. A defense mechanism. "Maybe I wanted him to kiss me?"

Inuyasha looked completely lost and confused. "I didn't think you were the type? If you want someone, you just tell them…"

"Says who? You don't know me, Inuyasha."

Part of her wondered (if she kept pushing) would the demon come out again? At least the demon loved her. The Hanyou before her only loved one person and it wasn't her.

That thought nearly brought her to her knees, so she spun from him, leaving him behind. "We should get back to the others."

"You didn't answer my question…"

"Your demon came out. Guess you were so pissed that we stopped you from killing Koga that he took over. You ran here and I followed. There. Happy??"

If she had his demon hearing, Kagome might have heard whatever it was he said to that. But she didn't so all she had to go on was it sounded like he mumbled a 'No'.

oOo

A small part of her reason for turning down Inuyasha when he wanted her to get on his back was because she didn't want to irritate her tender thigh. The thought of it rubbing against his hip made her cringe.

The main reason was she really didn't want to be close to him. He bought her lie so easily. No pressing or follow up questions like: how a human kept up with a demon for that long? The only reason she could think that he didn't ask was because he knew it wasn't true and didn't want to know.

He didn't want to know why she was with him in the village he'd shared with his mother; a person he barely spoke of. Inuyasha didn't dare ask why they'd spent the night there either. And if he did wake up naked next to her, he was pretending it never happened. His blush that morning made her wonder where he'd been when he woke up. If he thought that was bad then he probably didn't wake up with her spooning her naked body around his.

Everything had changed between them and she was still the only one aware. It was all on her; Kagome was the only one in love and now that she had slept with Inuyasha, it only made it worse.

Kagome's marks were starting to burn. They felt hot before but it was as if they were on fire. It caused her to slow even more which, of course, irritated the Hanyou. So she pushed, forced her body to keep moving when all it wanted to do was collapse into a ball.

Kagome thought she was keeping her pain off her face but apparently not. "Kagome, what's wrong?"

She refused to look at him. Even the smallest hint of care on his face would break her right now and that was the last thing she wanted. "Nothing."

He grabbed her bicep to stop her and hissed. "Jesus, you're hot! I can feel it through your damn robes!" Not taking no for an answer, he picked her up bridal style and took off. "If you're sick then why the hell didn't you say so??!!"

What was she supposed to say? 'These damn mate marks are bugging me'? Or better yet, 'your mate marks are burning me alive'? The cool breeze he created felt so good. As did being in his arms but she refused to admit it; she found herself going in and out. She had no clue how much time had passed when Sango's voice hit her ears.

"Oh my god! What did you do to her??!!"

"ME?! I didn't do shit!"

"She doesn't look so good." Shippo's scared voice and cool paw touched her.

Opening a wary eye, she found herself at Kaede's. Inuyasha must not have known where the others were and brought her here instead. The elder's face hovered over hers now, looking closely as if it was written there. "Take her inside, Inuyasha."

He did as told, laying her down on a bed mat but lingered near her so Kagome turned away from him.

"Sango, stay and help me. The rest of you get out."

"What?!" Inuyasha yelped.

"Come, Inuyasha. Give them some space." Miroku's calm voice added.

A few heartbeats passed and a huffy Inuyasha stomped out. Sango pulled Kagome onto her back and studied her as Kaede had. Her fingers felt cold as Sango brushed her sweaty bangs back. "Show it to us, Kagome."

There was such knowing in Sango's eyes. It was now clear why Kaede asked her to stay.

Rolling to her side, Kagome loosened her top and worked her shoulders until the base of her neck was uncovered. They pressed on her, examining her and her mark.

"It took." Sango said without any shock or confusion in her voice.

Kaede hummed in agreement. "Mark of the dog demon. Inuyasha?"

"Who else? Sesshomaru??" Kagome giggled at Sango's words, finding it as ridiculous as they did.

"If she's been marked and it stayed then…"

"Then Inuyasha has no clue. Should we tell him or is it too soon?"

Kaede was silent and Kagome was confused. Why would it be too soon to tell him anything?

"He knows. Deep down a part of him knows. Ye leave it be as that is how it is done."

Carefully, she was rolled onto her back again, Sango's warm smile meeting her. "Kagome… You're rejecting the mate. It's making you sick."

"I'm… I'm not. He is."

Her throat felt so dry but it was like Kaede read her mind, a cup of water in her hands for the scorching Priestess. After gulping it down, Sango pushed her back again, forcing her to lie still.

"Inuyasha isn't doing anything wrong. This is how it has to be. Ye need to trust it and relax." Kaede warned.

Kagome didn't know how, her mind a mess with doubt. There was only one thing she was certain of and that was Inuyasha, the Hanyou, would reject this; reject her as soon as he knew.

She closed her eyes, hoping to at least relax, while Kaede and Sango placed cool rags on her. There was movement, shadows dancing across her closed lids. And then Kaede was at the door, her voice distant and the curtain loud with it getting nearly ripped off the doorway.

"I wanna see her."

"Inuyasha…"

"What are you guys doing to her?! You're going to kill her. Let me take her to her time, they have more to help her."

Never had she heard Inuyasha so scared and… desperate. "Nothing there will aid her aliment. She needs to be left alone and rest."

"At least let me see her, Old Hag!!"

Inuyasha was really upset. He only went off on his friends like that when he was. In her self-deprecating stew, she forgot how much Inuyasha cared about her.

Kagome felt her temperature start to drop and the world became white noise around her.

oOo

Inuyasha was watching his thumb as it rubbed the back of her hand. Sitting next to her, his hair was knotted on top of his head and the top to his fire robes was missing. As the rest of the world came into existence for her, she found his armor draped over her on top of the blankets. Her slight movements caught his attention but he didn't release his hold on her hand or act embarrassed about it.

"Hey. There you are. You...had us worried." She glanced around but couldn't find anyone else in the hut with them. "You had me worried."

As if to prove his point, he played with a curl that had fallen over her shoulder; the knot she'd placed yesterday falling during her sleep. When she made no protests or reacted in any manner at all, it emboldened him and he brushed the pads of his fingers across her scalp. Pushing her bangs out of his way, he checked her temperature but his hand lingered longer than necessary. But maybe that was her imagination?

"Your fever is gone. Can you get up?"

His voice was so soft and gentle. A rare composure for Inuyasha but one he showed more and more the longer she knew him.

Letting him continue to hold her hand, she used her other one to push up and sit. Focused on her task, she was confused when she found the dumbfounded look on his face. He wasn't looking at her face though.

She followed his eyes and saw that her top (that she'd loosened last night) had popped open. Without a bra, her breasts were spread apart. All of that meant the mark on the inside of her breast was in plain sight.

There were no words. Not for either of them. Inuyasha just got up and left.

Just as expected, she'd been rejected.