DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.
One Cold Starry Night
By: Of Memories Past
Chapter 4: Adjustments
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Kagome stirred as stray beams of sunlight filtered through the mouth of the cave. She groaned as one particular shaft of light struck her face and turned over to avoid the morning rays only to find an obstacle in her path. Sleepily opening one eye, Kagome looked at Shippo's sleeping form and smiled. She gently ruffled his hair before stretching out on her back and yawning, the scent of breakfast cooking invading her sense of smell. Smiling again, Kagome got up to help Sango finish the cooking.
"Inuyasha…" she said, surprised to find the hanyou bent over the morning fire. Only more confusion leapt into her eyes when he looked up at her sadly. Curiously, she crossed over to the fire and sat down beside him. "What' s wrong Inuyasha?"
He did not say anything, but instead he pulled her into his arms in a tight embrace. Kagome simply hugged him back, still wondering at his unusual behavior. She sighed as he brushed his fingers across the side of her neck, and a warm, comfortable sensation ran through her body. Her entire being felt relaxed. Without thinking, Kagome reached up and kissed his cheek before drifting off to sleep again.
Inuyasha froze at the sudden contact before lifting her in his arms to put her back to sleep next to Shippo. But as soon as she returned to her temporary blanket, the kitsune child woke up and held his arms out to Inuyasha. Inuyasha carefully picked him up, fully aware of the broken leg. Shippo offered him a small smile in forgiveness.
Inuyasha growled slightly and quietly crossed back to the fire to finish breakfast. Shippo happily sat in his lap, warm from both the fire and his companion's body heat. Often Inuyasha found Shippo reaching out to sample bits and pieces of the breakfast, but he allowed the kit the small pleasure instead of stopping him.
"Did you catch this deer this morning, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked, reaching out to sample yet another piece of the almost roasted meat.
Inuyasha sighed and began to cook some more meat. Shippo had been taking quite a few samples. "Yes, but try to leave some for the others."
Shippo nodded and reached for a carrot instead. "Is hunting hard?"
Inuyasha continued adding vegetables and meat to the boiling pot over the fire to make a stew. "It can be." He lightly scratched Shippo's back, still remorseful about the previous night.
"Can you teach me?" he asked with pleading eyes around a mouthful of carrot.
"When your leg heals," he almost choked. The small leg would not have to heal if it had not been for him.
"Thank you, Inuyasha!" He smiled grandly and threw his arms around the hanyou's neck.
Inuyasha tried not to smile as he pried Shippo from himself and sat the child back down to snack on another piece of meat. He was so forgiving.
"Inuyasha," Shippo started, changing the subject, "Kagome smells different."
He nodded.
"She smells like you," Shippo continued suspiciously.
He nodded again, carefully keeping his gaze away from the kitsune child.
"Then I was right last night?"
"Yes."
Shippo sat contemplating the situation for a moment. Kagome was like his mother. She watched out for him and took care of him. He did everything with her. He listened to her when she told him to do things. She was his mother as far as he was concerned now. But she belonged to someone else now…
"Inuyasha?" he questioned innocently. "If Kagome is yours now, are you my new dad?"
Inuyasha froze. A father? Him? Kagome had clearly taken Shippo in as her son, but Inuyasha had not thought of what that meant for him if he had done what he did. He sighed. That would mean…
"If Kagome accepts it, then yes," he said quietly.
Shippo grinned widely and then stuffed another morsel in his mouth.
"Smells good."
Inuyasha and Shippo looked up to find Sango approaching them, Kirara following closely behind. Sango sat down and place the small fire cat in her lap, lightly stroking the soft fur while she watched her two friends. Shippo certainly seemed to be at ease with Inuyasha despite the previous occurrences as he sat happily munching in the hanyou's lap. However, pain over what he had done was clearly etched in Inuyasha's face. Sango smiled sadly and reached out to take a clawed hand into her own.
Inuyasha was surprised at the action but did not refuse the contact. He glanced questioningly at the demon huntress.
"It's going to be ok, Inuyasha," she said reassuringly. She released his hand. "And thank you for fixing breakfast this morning.
He grumbled a response and turned his attention back to the food. Sango smiled.
"Good morning," Miroku said, awaking at the smell of food. "I trust everyone is feeling better?"
Shippo and Sango nodded while Kirara chirped. Inuyasha muttered an inaudible response.
It was at that point when Kagome wandered up, wrapped in the fire- rat robe. She cheerfully draped it back around Inuyasha's shoulders before sitting next to him.
"Kagome, what happened last night?" Miroku asked concerned. "Are you ok?"
Kagome smiled and nodded. "I wasn't injured at all. Just scared a bit. A large wolf youkai kidnapped me and apparently wanted to make me his mate, but Inuyasha saved me.
Inuyasha noticeably shifted uncomfortably at the mentioning of "mate."
"So everything is ok." Kagome grinned and brushed her hair aside before reaching out to try a piece of meat.
"Kagome, your neck!" Sango gasped.
"Huh?" Kagome asked, bewilderment in her eyes.
"You have teeth marks in your neck!"
Miroku leaned closer and frowned. "She's right. How did you get those?"
Kagome shook her head. "I don't know."
"Oh, those are Inuyasha's," Shippo happily volunteered.
Three pairs of eyes snapped questioningly to the munching kit while Inuyasha simply glared.
"Inuyasha's?" Miroku asked.
Kagome reached up to touch her neck, slightly stunned. "That's right, he did bite me." She nervously turned to the hanyou. "Inuyasha, you were transformed last night when you saved me. And then you bit me. Why?"
Inuyasha scowled. "You make it sound like I tried to bite your head off. I didn't bite you that hard."
"No," Kagome agreed. "You were gentle." She paused. "You were in your youkai form and were gentle." Freezing, she glanced up at him. "What did that bite mean, Inuyasha?"
He lowered his eyes to the ground. "It means that you're mine now."
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"I'm yours?"
Inuyasha mutely stared at the ground and nodded his head. "Almost."
"Almost?"
Inuyasha locked his eyes with Kagome's and then stood up. "Shippo, please explain everything to her." With that he left.
Eyes full of confusion, Kagome turned and glanced at Shippo. The kit sat back, shaking his head. He did not want to be the one to explain to Kagome the courtship rites of a demon. He barely knew them himself being only a baby! Shippo continued to shake his head until Kagome reached out and snatched him. Unfortunately, the sudden movement aggravated his injured leg, and the kit yelped in pain.
Kagome flinched at the sharp howl and then frowned when the cause of pain became evident. "Shippo," she asked comforting him, "what happened to your leg?"
Shippo sorrowfully turned to Miroku. His mission from Inuyasha promised to be a trying one as it was.
Sighing, the monk frowned. "A lot happened last night, Kagome."
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"Kagome," Sango eased as she wiped the tears from her friend's cheeks, "he was crying. Inuyasha sat there and cried. He was truly sorry for what he had done."
Kagome shook her head. "But he was so gentle last night while in his youkai form, even when he bit me. Why did he hurt Shippo?"
Shippo stared at the ground quietly. He knew why Inuyasha had attacked him. It was one of the reasons that he did not hold what had happened against him. Inuyasha had acted upon pure instinct. "I knew better," Shippo whispered quietly. "I knew better and I still did it."
"Knew what, Shippo?" Miroku asked, moving closer to his friends. Kirara perched on his head, her silent eyes asking the same question.
"I knew that I shouldn't have gone near Kagome." Shippo turned tear-filled eyes to his friends. "Inuyasha should have attacked me. He wouldn't be much of a demon if he hadn't." The kit sat clenching his fists repeatedly.
"What are you saying, Shippo?" Sango moved closer, confusion etched across her face.
He looked up as the tears began to spill. "He was protecting his mate."
"Protecting?" Kagome asked. Her brown eyes filled with more confusion.
Shippo nodded sadly. "And I went after him."
"You what?!"
Flinching at Kagome's shriek, Shippo put a bit of distance between himself and the miko before explaining the rest. "I attacked him in my youkai form," he whispered sorrowfully. "I knew that I shouldn't, but I thought that I had lost you forever, Kagome." He turned his tearful eyes to his surrogate mother. "You're not going to leave me are you?"
Kagome reached forward and drew Shippo into her arms. "Oh, Shippo, no. I'm not going to leave you." She allowed the kitsune to cry for a while before pushing him back a bit so that eye contact was possible. One more small matter still remained. "Shippo, I need you to explain this whole bite thing."
Shippo paled, and Miroku and Sango could not help but laugh. Demon love 101…
"It's…ummm…yeah, it meant…well…he wants…no…I…" Shippo stammered.
Kagome smiled warmly. "Just tell me, Shippo. I need to know."
Shippo frowned but decided to do as Kagome asked. "He claimed you with that bite." Frowning some more, he continued. " His scent is all over you and will be for the rest of your life. No other youkai will come after you as a mate, and Inuyasha will never look for another."
Miroku nodded. "I see. So as far as every other youkai in the land is concerned, Kagome belongs to Inuyasha?"
Shippo nodded.
"And to a demon, this claiming rite is also a commitment?"
The child nodded again. "But she isn't all the way his yet."
"I'm not?" Kagome asked, confused.
"No, you have to accept his offer."
Kagome leaned in closer, anxious to know more. "And if I wanted to, how would I do that?"
Shippo looked like he was about to gag. " Remember how he bit you? Well, you need to do the same thing."
Kagome's eyes grew wide. "You want me to bite him back?!"
A/N: This on was a little bit longer than the others. I hope it turned out all right. I was extremely tired while writing it. Oh well, let me know what you think. Chapter 5 coming out soon. God Bless~ Of Memories Past