Demon Body, Human Heart By DemonSaya

Disclaimer: Okay, I dun own any of these characters, I'm borrowing them, and I promised that I'd return them. Well...I promised because Inuyasha's rather mad that I kidnapped them for awhile and I'm afraid he may pull out his sword and demolish me...Please don't sue me, I already have a pmsing adolescent half-demon to deal with!

Policy on Flamers: Give me Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease, and I shall give you the same. If you don't, I know lots of assassins, thieves, demons, and goddesses, that would love to hurt you if I told them you flamed ^_^

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Chapter 10: Warm Embraces

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Inuyasha lurked around Kagome's time, barely managing to stay out of her 'sensor' range. He wasn't sure of what kept him there, since she'd already proven her feelings for him earlier that day. He told himself he was just there to make sure this Hojo kid didn't pull anything on Kagome.

He hopped from tree to tree, his eyes following her and Hojo's every movement. His expression was gentle as he noticed that Kagome didn't hold the boy's hand, or walk anywhere near as close to the boy as she usually did with him.

Kagome wasn't enjoying herself. Sure, Hojo was a nice boy, and cute even, but the evening lacked the excitement and adventure that she always got from Inuyasha. In all honesty, she was quickly finding she liked the 'bad boy' type the best. Inuyasha teased her, he flirted and fought with her, but he was still gentle and loving with her.

He was always there when she needed him.

She smiled a bit, remembering when they fought the spider heads, and the Peach Man. The first times she saw him as a human, the times when he'd treated her with the most tenderness. The first times he'd treated her like she was more than just an annoyance.

*You smell nice...*

She closed her eyes, remembering the feel of his hair in under her fingers, the pale transparancy of his skin, the coldness of his-

"Higurashi-san?"

She blinked out of her daze, realizing that their waitor was waiting for her to order her drink. She blushed, and quickly ordered a soda, wishing she were with Inuyasha right now, eating instant Ramen, rather than sitting in a fancy restaurant with this boy.

Inuyasha noticed Kagome seemed distant with the boy, often getting dazed, far-off looks in her eyes as she gazed out the window, pretending to be listening to his idle chatter. She looked bored. He'd never seen her bored before, but that was what it was.

Sure, her mind would wander on occasion, and she would get far off looks in her eyes, but whenever HE spoke to her, her eyes would snap towards him, and he knew he had her attention. He also knew he was like that with her, now. A gentle smile touched his lips as he stared down through the window. He heard girls gossiping below and realized they were doing exactly what he was doing.

Spying.

He swiveled his ears forward, listening to their words.

"Come on, why would Kagome go for some stupid jerk who's two-timing her when she could have a nice boy like Hojo-kun falling all over her in attempts to gain her attentions?" One asked, peering through the window.

"Love knows no race, social status, or life-style." Another said matter of factly. "In fact, usually, the one you wind up falling for is exactly the one you shouldn't."

The other one harumphed. "She outta think about what's good for herself once in awhile. Any guy who's violent and a two-timer is GOTTA be trouble! She's gonna wind up getting hurt!"

The third one crouched, resting her elbows on her knees. "I don't know. She seems awfully distant in there. She doesn't look like a girl having fun. She looks like she's in there because it's her duty." She sighed sadly. "I know this guy must be bad for her, but she seems happy. Happier than I've seen her in awhile. Maybe that boy finally chose her over the other girl."

Inuyasha sat cross-legged in the tree, listening to them with a serious expression. He HAD made his choice. He'd made it awhile ago, but he didn't realize it when he did. He was always too wrapped up with the scandal involving Kikyou, Naraku, and himself to open his eyes and notice he had a warm, living, LOVING woman nearby who cared for him. He smiled slightly.

He was such an ass.

In all honesty, he didn't know what she saw in him either. He could never give her the normal life that boy was capable of giving her. He could never be everything she wanted. He was torn between two halves, his demon half-which told him only a full demon could protect her-and his human half- which said she could never love him if he was an abomination like he was whenever he went into his demon form.

He sighed, leaning back against the tree. What could it be that she actually liked about him?! He didn't belong anywhere anymore. He wasn't fully demon or human. Too much of the other to be considered either. He was a half-breed.

A freak.

He felt a strange moisture on his face and hurriedly wiped the tears away. Kagome and the boy were leaving the restaurant. It was time to follow them again.

Hojo was leading her towards the park. As they went in that direction, she began to get awkward. It was well known that boys who were going to propose to girls led them here and took them on romantic walks to get them in the mood. So far, no boy had been refused using such a method. Hojo would be the first.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck raising and glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see an angry Inuyasha come and tear into Hojo. The thought gave her a shiver of excitement. She loved the untamed look he got in his eyes when he fought. It was so wild and...

When she realized where they were her breath caught. The river shone in the moonlight, stars reflecting off of it, and glow bugs flying around them. She smiled gently, wishing she were sharing this with Inuyasha rather than Hojo. Then, she noticed he was looking at her with intense eyes. She backed up a step, biting her lip.

"Higurashi...Iie..." He smiled a bit. "Kagome...would you...would you be my Kanai?" He pulled out a ring, presenting it ot her with a warm and tender smile.

Kagome looked from the ring to his face, her heart pounding. "Hojo...I-"

"I promise I'll take care of you even if you get horribly sick, I'll always take care of you..." He looked hopeful, moving closer to her and attempting to place a warm kiss on her lips.

Kagome stopped him by putting her hand over his mouth. "Hojo." She said softly, firmly before backing up a step. "I can't." She said evenly, seeing the downcast look in his eyes and sighing. "You don't even know me that well, and my friends said I would take this date. You're a very nice boy, and I think you would make a fine husband...but...not for me." She shook her head. "I need a different kind of boy, Hojo, and I've already found him."

He opened his mouth to object, but she shook her head. "I haven't known him for very long, but...he treats me like I'm everything to him, and I believe him. I can't just marry you and throw his love in his face. Especially since I love him too..."

"So..." Hojo said slowly. "You were just stringing me along?" He asked coldly.

"I never had any intention of marrying you. In case you haven't noticed most of my friends bullied me into going on those dates with you." She shook her head. "I don't love you, and I don't think you know me well enough to love me either. I'm sorry."

He threw the ring at her feet, angry for the first time since she'd met him. "I...I've tried everything to get you to love me! I've tried everything, but you choose some violent jack-ass over me?!"

Her anger welled up inside her and she picked up the ring, pressing it into the palm of her hand. "He may be violent, but he's also more of a man than you. Don't ever call him a jack-ass again, or so help me, Kami-sama...I'll kill you myself. NO one talks about the man I love like that and get's away with it!"

Hojo glared at her and then spun on her heal. "Fine, but when he throws you to the curb, don't come crawling back to me expecting me to take you back!"

She snorted. "I don't crawl for any man!" She turned on her heal and stormed towards her house. As she reached the front door, she fumbled with the keys for a few moments before she got frustrated and sunk to her knees, crying.

Inuyasha approached her from behind quietly, knowing she would sense him anyways. He placed a gentle claw on her shoulder, stroaking it gently. "Kagome..." He said softly.

She sniffled, forcing herself to her feet and opening the door. She pointed up to her window, indicating that he should enter through there. She went in, ignoring her mother's questions about the date and immediately went to her room, finding Inuyasha sitting on her bed, gently petting Buyo. "Were you following me all night?" She asked softly, sitting beside him on the bed.

He nodded sheepishly, looking at her from under his eyebrows, which were smoothed from their normal scowl.

She leaned her head against his shoulder as the cat jumped from his lap and strutted, jumping up into her chair and conking out. "Don't you trust me at all?" She asked softly.

He put his arm around her shoulders, inhaling her scent deeply. "Of course I do." He said as vanilla and sweetness assailed his senses. "It's the rest of the world I don't trust." He teased gently, stroaking her cheek.

She smiled a bit, feeling somewhat better.

His expression turned serious, his brows returning to their normal scowl. "I'll admit I was a little afraid when he proposed that you would accept..." He said, looking away from her, his golden eyes withdrawn. "After all, he can give you the world, right? He can give you everything you need...I...The only think I can give is danger and death threats."

She looked towards him, her eyes soft. "Inuyasha..." She smiled, shaking her head. "You give me more than Hojo ever could." She said, lifting her hand and touching his face. "Hojo may be able to give me the world, but how many could give me two?" She saw the perplexed expression on his face and giggled.

"Kagome?" He turned towards her on the bed, looking at her, confused. "I don't understand..."

"Inuyasha, I know what Hojo could give me. Safety, security, everything a girl could want...but...that's boring. I WANT the adventure and the danger...I want someone I can fight with and love with...I need more than a soft-touch. I need you."

He looked down. "But I'm not even from your time...and in the time I'm from, even if you don't love them, someone would marry because it's good for their family..." He heard her laugh and looked up abruptly, surprised at her response.

"You dummy..." She said fondly. "My mother likes you, and my little brother adores you. You protect me like no one else can, and you even lay your life on the line when someone I care for is in danger. You're good for my family, and you're perfect for me. I don't care which time we live in, or if we live in both, but I want to be with YOU. Not Hojo." She thunked his forehead with her knuckle. "What's it going to take to get that through your stupid baka head?"

He smiled a bit, looking at her from under his eyebrows, and taking her hands in his, playing with her fingers. "I almost came down there and hit him when he called me a jack-ass. There are few people I'll tolerate that from."

She giggled. "That would be hard to explain to the police. 'I never saw it coming, it was this red streak, and then my face exploded with pain and I blacked out.' They'd be taking in everyone who wore red on a regular basis!"

"Ya know..." He leaned back against her pillows, looking at her, grinning. "I wasn't the only one following you around tonight. Those girls were following you, too. They don't know why you love a violent, two-timer like me." He teased gently. "Sometimes I wonder that myself."

She rolled her eyes. "Then I'll have to tell him that you annoyed me into it." She teased back, leaning against the pillows beside him.

"That's my line." He said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes and grinning from ear to ear, his white fangs glistening in the light.

"Oh?" She giggled. "Then why were you on the recieving end of "IT" so much?"

"Because you annoyed me so much!" He grabbed her, rolling on top of her and staring down into her warm stormy eyes. He loved those eyes. They reminded him of the intense summer storms of his own time, the warm rain, the heat of the lightning, the darkness of the clouds. He shuddered, kissing her forehead. "What's your real reason...?" He asked softly, pinning her hands at either side of her face.

She looked up into those wild eyes, her heart skipping a beat. "Because..." She whispered. "You tease me, and you protect me...you're not afraid to challenge me...Because you're wild and untameable...and possessive and loving and thrilling..." Her voice gradually grew breathy at the end of the sentence. She couldn't help it. He made her heart beat faster, made her resolve weaken. "You're passionate and intense, and I like that. I love it..." She stared up into his eyes, smiling. "Maybe I should ask yo why you love me?"

He released her hand, laying beside her, his upper body over hers. "I love you...because you cried for me...you had complete faith in my goodness, even when I was more worried about the shikon no tama than I was about you...you were willing to let me be with Kikyou if it made me happy..." He laced his fingers with hers. "You look at me like I'm the perfect guy, even though I know I'm not..." He lowered his lips to hers. "You let me kiss you and you don't struggle, despite still being new to all of this, you let me lay on the same bed with you, even though I'm sure you know I'm fighting hard to control the instincts that tell me to take you here and now."

His voice was a husky rasp against her ear. It made her shiver from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She grasped his hands tightly. "But we'll wait...?" She asked more than stated, because right now, she was more than willing.

He nodded seriously. "Till we're married by your terms and mine as well, we'll wait..." He leaned down, kissing her lips gently, caressing her mouth with his. "Let me stay here?" He asked softly.

"I was just going to ask you to stay..." She teased, snuggling against his chest. She felt his welcoming arms go around her and smiled happily. She could remember the time he'd slept on this bed alone. He looked so cute when he slept.

He remembered that time as well, but he knew now that sleeping with her beside him felt more relaxing, better, more right than sleeping on her bed alone. This way her scent wafted around him in an intoxicating vapor, the scent of her soap and her skin mixing slightly. Things weren't going to be the same between them ever again. Not after this. He wanted to be like this with her forever.

"Itsumo?" Kagome asked softly, sounding muzzy-headed from drowsiness.

"Itsumo..." He responded, letting their bodies wrap around each other, the promise of forever still on their tongues.

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Author's Notes: Well? Whacha think of this chapter? I know Hojo was a little ooc, but seriously, if you were sorta led on, and find out when you propose to someone they don't like you that way, how would you feel? Even the nicest person would be hurt. Besides, I'm inclined to believe that's all just a front anyways. Next chapter is when the real action starts though. Be prepared for Naraku to make his big splash! Don't worry, he wasn't wearing a speedo! ^_^; Scary image...I think I'll go shove screws into my eyes now...

*No demons were injured in the making of this fic. Except Naraku, who will be severely maimed, since Saya deems it so.*