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Inuyasha sat upon the branch of the tree he had chosen, fehing his way into his thoughts. He had just learned about him marking Kagome, just learned what his heart had done without his mind knowing. But was he really free to love and make Kagome his when Kikyou still walked the Earth? He wasn't sure, but he was sure his instincts needed a good kick in the ass.

With a heavy sigh, he turned his gaze up to the clear blue sky. Kagome. She wouldn't leave his mind alone. He was marking her as his, something he never really thought about with Kikyou. With her, it was always some kind of crush. Was it a crush, or was it really love?

They both needed someone to understand them back then, Kikyou being alone in her priestessthood and Inuyasha being the half-breed he was. They needed someone to love them, maybe that was all it was. Then why was Kikyou back to take him with her? Because she was still alone, even in hell.

Frustrated, he punched a good sized crater in the bark of the tree. If Kikyou hadn't returned, he wouldn't be in this fix! He would have had Kagome as his a long time ago! There would have been no loose ends, no nothing, he was sure. He stopped. He knew it now, there was no denying what he just thought. He would have had Kagome as his a long time ago? So that meant he did like her, more than liked her? No, he was still attached to Kikyou.

When Kikyou died, he had died, and he had been revived by her reincarnation. When they had died, Inuyasha was sure the bonds between them were broken. Or any bond he had with her was broken, he wasn't sure the other way around. Someone else had come into his life, someone his dog side already chose before his human side could comprehend it.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Inuyasha breathed.
His head hurt. Damn did his head hurt. Kikyou was in the past, she was dead and should have stayed dead while Inuyasha had been revived. Kagome was now, she was here, alive and full of life. He would have to tell Kikyou, he would have to and then send her away to hell. But how? He already felt guilty about the whole betraying thing and he didn't want her to leave this world with more betrayal on her. He didn't really think that would bode well.
Even though he wanted more time to think about it, Fate had more sinister ideas in mind. The stench of dead souls and bones as well as Earth filled Inuyasha's nose and he stiffened.

"Hello, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha almost fell out of his tree, scrambling wildly to hurry up and land on solid ground. One hand in front of the other, piss-ant. He berated himself sourly. Carefully now, though definitely not slowly, he grasped the last branch and let go. Graceful and cat-like he landed before Kikyou.

Technically dead, though still walking around. That was Kikyou. In her body made of bone and ash, she wandered the Earth with one purpose. To take Inuyasha to Hell with her, to take him away and leave her reincarnation as lonely as she had been. Misery enjoyed company and Kikyou was no exception.

Her lips peeled back into what could be said as a small smile. Her eyes pierced straight into Inuyasha's, cold yet cunning, the eyes of a rabid fox.

Inuyasha had once been warned by Yume, though she had said it jokingly at the time he could tell that she meant it, that the worst type of animal is a scorned and betrayed woman. They were more dangerous than any other animal that walked the face of the Earth, and the look Kikyou was giving him verified that statement. Her look alone was worse than most things Inuyasha had gone through.

"K-Kikyou.."
Inuyasha had a whole speech ready in his head. He was sure of every word, every action, and as long as she followed his 'plan', the whole thing would go over easily. Well, the speech decided to take a hike and leave him stranded, 'see you later, bye, your on your own' it seemed to say. Kikyou could do that to you; one look and you forget anything you were about to say.

Kikyou waited patiently for Inuyasha to mutter something, anything at all, though what she was secretly waiting for was the right time to kiss him. One kiss, one touch, and he would be back under her spell. As long as her reincarnation stayed far away, she would actually pull it off.

Slowly, step by baby step Kikyou advanced on him, speaking sweet nothing's as she neared. Inuyasha watched in slight astonishment as he felt his heart tug at her viciously sweet words and almost gasped at how quickly his mind succumbed. So Kikyou still had her hand around his heart, she still had one last binding to him and it seemed to be one of the with me, now. Today, we can end it all and spend..." If she said anymore, Inuyasha didn't hear.

His mind was reeling. She was getting closer, but he didn't want to push her away. In fact, he wanted to embrace her and listen to those soft spoken words. He wanted her to kiss him, simple as that. He would have done anything to just let his mind continue to wander without a care, allow Kikyou to just drag him wherever she wanted him to go. It didn't matter where, as long as she continued to talk to him...

Kagome! What about Kagome! His mind suddenly snarled at him. His eyes snapped open and his body grew rigid. Yeah, what about Kagome? She would be devastated it I just up and left with Kikyou! Besides, you were going to tell Kikyou to back off, remember? A growl started to form in his throat and his golden eyes, now both alert and aware of Kikyou's snaking hands, trained themselves on Kikyou's cold, solid grey ones.

"Kikyou."
She stopped moving, her lips stopped speaking. He had spoken her name commandingly, and she had acted accordingly. Inuyasha took several small steps back just so he was out of her reaching distance. The last thing he wanted was for her to set her spell on him again and him not being able to resist.

He spoke clearly now, the speech that had waved bye-bye to him came crawling back. Everything he had thought of saying before returned and escaped his lips smoothly and easily.

Mostly because he knew something, something had clicked in his head. This was NOT Kikyou. Kikyou had a heart before she died, this was just a reanimate shadow following him around. Kikyou's soul, and her kindness, belonged to Kagome now. But Kagome is Kagome, Kikyou is Kikyou, and Inuyasha could now easily understand it.

"I am not under your control anymore, nor are you the keeper of my heart. Everything that we had before...before Naraku happened...died the moment you sealed me and the moment you left this world. You no longer hold claim to me," Inuyasha watched Kikyou and watched her stiffen, though her face was completely blank. "Someone...someone else now holds claim to my heart, holds claim to me. So, please, Kikyou, just...go back. I want you to rest in peace, just as our love rests now. It's...over, Kikyou."

For a long time after Inuyasha spoke so blandly, Kikyou just stared at him. Neither of them moved, neither breathed, it was one of those moments that seem to last forever. Moments before Inuyasha thought the silence would kill him, Kikyou stirred out of her reverie and sneered at Inuyasha.
"It's not over, Inuyasha. Just wait." she said no more, but had her soul gatherers bear her off into the darkening sky. "Just wait."

Inuyasha watched her go solemnly, though anger bit at his heels. Kikyou just couldn't let it go and rest. He sort of figured she wouldn't take it easily, but he didn't expect her to threaten him. His foot dug into the ground and he kicked it as he had done in front of Yume.

Yume! He completely forgot about her! Turning his back on the tree that had kept him company, he sped away into the woods, back towards the masacred village where the cats once ran rampage.

Yume neared the broken looking hut and knocked easily on the wall. She was afraid to knock any harder than that, the hut looked ready to fall over at any given minute. Slightly uneasy, she knocked again and sniffed the air. Kagome's scent and Sango's scent was strong here, so she was sure they were still inside.

She grinned when she heard a shuffling noise and Kagome's voice call out "come in!". So she had been correct, Kagome had needed to shed that shirt she wore. She peered over at the priest that had followed her and saw him peeking through one of the holes in the hut.

She raised an eyebrow inquisively at him and when he noticed, he grew surprised. He half expected her to shove him into the ground, but she just shook her head and walked on by. "Don't let Inuyasha ever caught you doing that." She adviced amusedly as she walked by. "He will kill you, priest."

Miroku stared after her and shook his head slightly. Phew, close, he thought. I was so sure she would grind my head into the dirt! He placed his hands in front of him and prayed a silent thanks before walking in after Yume.

"Kagome?" Yume asked questioningly, pulling the curtain back. "Can I talk to you?"
She found Kagome sitting patiently in the middle of the room with a forced smile on her face. This place was filled with the stench of blood and Yume slightly wrinkled her nose at it. Inuyasha was going to be furious, even if he won't show it. She thought slightly, snorting dog like.

"Sure." Kagome answered quietly.
"Outside? Away from the others? It's about...Inuyasha." Yume suddenly felt quite uneasy, a feeling she wasn't quite used to. She was always outspoken and confident in herself, but talking to Inuyasha's chosen mate just made her seem so...well...uneasy.

Kagome stood up instantly. She glanced down at Sango and saw her friend nod slightly. Kagome smiled, stepped lightly over her bag, and stood directly at Yume's side. Yume was slightly impressed. For a human, Kagome was taking her wounds rather lightly. She barely saw a glimmer of a grimise on the girl's face. Smiling a tilted smile, she motioned for her to follow.

"I just want to get out of ear-shot. I can't tell where Inuyasha is, the smell of your blood is kind of blocking his scent. I doubt he'd take too kindly in me teaching you a few things." She winked playfully at Kagome, though the wink seemed a tad bit mischevious.

Kagome couldn't really understand this new demon. She had figured mostly all demons were surly and had bad backrounds they never really got over. Kouga was the one who completely befuddled her, but this demon was just as bad. She was clearly carefree and enjoyed everything she had, which seemed to be what she had on her back. She knew Inuyasha from when he was a child and was as mischevious as a three year old. But, somewhere below the outgoing attitude, she could feel some type of supressed emotion. It could be rage, sorrow, anything, but Kagome was sure the outer personality was only a defense for a much deeper one.

They treaded deep into the forest, passing numerous trees, pushing away underbrush that scraped and pulled at Kagome's skin. Yume was leading, slashing at most brambles to help Kagome through as well, but she seemed to miss a few, or Kagome's luck was just bad today and she kept stepping into more brambles.

When Yume finally stopped within a clearing with a large oak tree twisting it's way up to the sky, Kagome's legs were marked with small x's. She bent down and pulled a hitchhiker from her skirt before allowing Yume to scoop her up and dump her on a branch thick enough to support them both.

Yume watched her intently, though patiently. "The reason I've really brought you here was to answer questions, and, if possible, teach you a few things. Maybe tell you about myself some more."
This was all weird for Kagome. She was sitting in a tree, far from her friends, and speaking with someone she had just met. Though, this person did know Inuyasha and if Inuyasha respected her.

"Can I know more about you before we talk about any mark?" Kagome asked slowly, cautiously, though she didn't have to tread lightly.

Yume chuckled and nodded merrily.
"Of course! Why not, I mean I did just appear, right? I owe you an explanation." Yume took a deep breath and put a finger to her chin. "I guess I might as well tell you where I come from and my family to begin with. I'm pretty sure you can say I'm like Inuyasha. My family are one of the most powerful Wolf Clans in the High Mountains, my father a very powerful demon. He rules with an iron fist, but he has a kind heart. Eh, I'm supposed to have power as well, but I hardly use it. Hell, I hardly acknowledge it."

"There's not much left to tell about that. My mother never really loved me, she saw me as more a threat than a daughter and tossed me out of the Clan. My father disowned her a few days later and was going to welcome me back in, but I was already accepted into a lower Clan and I wasn't about to be kicked out again," Kagome saw her eyes cloud slightly, then they twinkles back to life. "Eh, enough about that. Now about Inuyasha.... Now there's a story. I found him a few days after his mother had died of heartbreak, poor little mutt. By then I was on my own, scrounging up a place to call home, and I literally stumbled over his dirty tiny body. He had multiple wounds about the body, wounds I never thought a demon his age could take! But he was a strong little mutt."

"It took three hours for me to be able to even pick him up, he was so defensive. And he had a wicked bite, let me tell you!" She let out a little sigh, though smiled. "I thought he bit my hand clear off! But he was so young and he had lost a lot of blood, I couldn't let a tiny wound like that get in the way of me helping him. So I finally was able to pick him up and bring him back to my den. It took four days of treatment for him to finally regain what had to have been himself." She shook her head slightly, at some long ago memory.

"He was so insecure about himself, even at the young age he was at. He didn't really speak to me, just growled and grunted his approval or dissaproval at a meal or question. After a while, he warmed up though. At least, he started to speak to me for once. Short little bursts of speech, not much, but enough."

"Then, one day while off trying to hunt the way I had taught him to, I heard him snarling from a few meters away. I ran to him and found him fighting the demon he swore was the one that hurt him before. Geez, that kid had a lot of spunk in him! The demon was one I hadn't seen on my short lived travels, but man was it big. And Inuyasha was wrestling with it as if it were nothing more than a playful weasel. Sure he was being cut and bruised, but he was mostly winning the fight! Before long, though, I finished the fight for him."

Yume leaned back against the bark, closing her eyes. "It was like that for a few short years, then one day he slid off. I was off hunting, I remember catching the pheasant and feeling pleased that it would make a good dinner for the both of us. When I came back to the den, Inuyasha was gone. He took his haori and just, left. He didn't leave a note, any type of sign that said he was going out, nothing. So I waited a little while, I think two months, for him to return and when he didn't, I left the area in search of a different home. That was the last I remember of him." Yume shrugged now and peeked open an eye. "A rather long story, hum?"

Kagome was too busy digesting this information to answer straight away. Yume had spoken clearly, but she had a knack for talking too fast, Kagome had soon realized. So Yume had known Inuyasha half his childhood life, yet he had never told her about Yume before. Never even mentioned the fact that he was taken care of by a she-wolf-demon. Well, he never really spoke much about his past, unless he was referring to Kikyou and they're betrayal.

Finally, Kagome nodded in reply to her question.
"So you do wish to become his mate, to finish the marking?" Yume asked so blandly, Kagome almost fell off the branch.
It was a question that had crossed her mind. Yes, she was sure she wanted to be Inuyasha's, she had somewhat always wanted to be his. But then there was the Kikyou thing and she wasn't totally sure Inuyasha saw Kagome for Kagome. For a moment, Kagome stayed silent under the intense green gaze of Yume, then she opened her mouth and let the words flow out as they would.
Or, more correctly put, let the word flow out.

"Yes." She said simply.
Yume instantly sat up straight with that same mischevious smile Kagome was starting to get used to plastered to her face. "Then maybe I should give you some advice. I'm not totally sure what a Dog would want, but I'm sure of what a Wolf would and they're not all that different. You ready for a little lesson on Dogs?"

Kagome's heart fluttered at the thought. Yep, she knew she was ready, but she felt like she was reading that book again. She felt like Inuyasha would find out and all hell would break loose again. But it also made her feel slightly exhilerated. This was something she would never ever learn from a textbook and she suddenly had the urge for a notebook and a sharpened pencil. She direly wanted to take notes.

"Okay, here's for number one. Dogs will be Dogs, no matter what. The male is supposed to be dominate, one reason why Inuyasha is always shoving you around or trying to act all menacing-like."
"I don't...I don't really get what your saying." Kagome admited quietly and Yume chuckled.

"I didn't think you would. I'll put it more simply; Inuyasha sees you as the alpha, and he doesn't believe that's right. His human side may not care, but the dog part of him doesn't like the fact that he's not dominate, that he doesn't have control in your group. So he resorts to trying to be terrifying to you, trying to get you to submit without harming you physically. Rule number one is: be a bit more submissive. Allow Inuyasha to have over where you go. Just yes him to death, that'll make him happy."

"Second way of being submissive is to let the arguments go his way. I don't know if you argue yet, though I'm sure you have, just let him have his way. Or at least, give him his way as close as you can make it. Third way, don't make eye contact with him unless he permits it. That is one big no-no. Dogs and Wolfs see that as a direct threat, a direct challenge. If your staring sternly into another Dog or Wolf demon's eyes, they will attack. In your case, he'll attack with words and more stern looks, stiffening and growling."
Kagome stared at her. This wasn't exactly what she had expected.

"So, in other words, I have to let Inuyasha have his way all the time?" Kagome asked softly, her face turning slightly red.

Yume saw the blush and gave a hearty, merry laugh. "Not all the time! Just let him have his way a little, maybe once in a while, and at other times take your own place. Kagome, I know this probably goes against your ruling, seeing how you pretty much are the leader of your group, but this is the only way to get to his dog side. It'll help finish his decision on continuing the rest of the marking. Of course, there are more ways." She grinned toothily.
Kagome's heart was beating uncontrollably in her chest. This was what she wanted, this was what it was going to feel like to be a woman. She would have control over Inuyasha, without literally controlling him like with the 'sit'.

She would be able to work magic she had the moment she was born, woman magic, the control over men without using a stern word or a angry glance. Her face flushed at the thought, completely flushed a bright red.

"Dogs and Wolfs have a few places along their body that, if done correctly, could make the person puddy in your hands." She winked. "Slide a finger across Inuyasha's jaw or plant a kiss, whichever you choose, and Inuyasha won't be able to ignore it. It's just an instinct ever Dog and Wolf had in them, it kind of makes a flare of desire go through them. But this can only happen if the woman doing it has been accepted as his mate."

A grin spread across her face. "In other words, a woman like you. You've been marked, he's already accepted you. Also, rub behind his ears, I'm sure he'll enjoy that."
Kagome nodded. "I know about his ears..."
Yume's grin grew wider. "I thought so. There is also a small place on the back of his neck that could make him fall asleep rather peacefully if he'll allow it. Place a finger correctly there and he'd drop his head, chin on his chest, and fall right asleep. Again, this can only be done if he accepted you, which, again, you don't have to worry about."

Now Kagome really felt her heart pounding and the blood rushing to her face. This was all rather confusing, rather fast. But Yume seemed to think she could pull it off, and she was sure she could to. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she felt a deep thrill. She wanted to test all this out, to maybe even see if she could make Inuyasha fall asleep easily by her touch, everything. It was just a feeling, but it kind of scared her as well as made her feel exhilarated.

"That's about it. Oh, wait." She sniffed the air lightly. "Good, your not wearing anything fake."

When she saw the confused look on Kagome's face, she chuckled. "Fake smells, I mean. Anything that interferes with your natural scent isn't that appealing to Inuyasha's nose. He likes your natural scent better than any fake smells you may have.

It tells him a lot about you, and, if you'll use your imagination, I'm not exaggerating when I say your scent gives away everything about you." She winked, then yawned lightly. "Wow, we've been away for quite awhile. I guess we better head back."

She picked Kagome up easily and dropped out of the tree. With a small nod of her head, they walked off, back into the direction of the village. Kagome didn't realize everything, she felt kind of clueless when Yume had started, but now her head was spinning with thoughts. She felt slightly dizzy as well.

"All right, Kagome? Take it well?" Yume asked, looking back. Kagome nodded. "Good, just apply it and you'll be in buisness."

Kagome's head suddenly cleared and a single question exploded into her head. "Yume?"

"Yeah?"

"When you talk about continuing the marking, what do you mean? There's more to this marking thing?"

Yume suppressed a giggle. "Oh man, there is so much more. Just you wait, Kagome. But it'll be fun, if you make it that way."

And Yume fell silent once again as they trudged through the underbrush, leaving Kagome to her thoughts. As the many hundreds of questions flooded her mind again, another one seemed to break through and Kagome was once again addressing Yume.

"Have you ever been marked, Yume?"

Yume stopped and took a deep breath. She then turned around slowly and gave Kagome a rather sad, piercing gaze with an equally sorrowful smile.

"Yeah, once. But that was long ago." Without giving more information, she trudged on with Kagome following behind.