Because Of You

Summary- It's Kagome's 'Time of the month' again. On a stormy night when a demon attacks, Kagome gets separated from Inuyasha and Koga rescues her and brings her to his cave. Could this rescue turn out to be the worst thing that ever happened to Kagome, Koga and Inuyasha? Loyalties will be put to the test and anger will rise, as the tension grows thick. What happens to cause all of this violence and hatred and mistrust?

Chapter Two

Fears

A pair of lustful blue eyes bore into Kagome's fearful brown ones as Koga pinned her down and smirked. "I know you want this," he growled.

"No, I don't!" Kagome shrieked, trying to wriggle free. But his grip was like iron. "Please let me go!"

"Why should I?" Koga demanded. His smirk was replaced with a scowl. "So you can run crying to mutt-face? Why should he get you? Why can't I have you?"

"I belong to Inuyasha!" Kagome cried. "Not to you. You were a good friend, Koga. But now...I don't know."

Koga's lips curled up into a grin. "You don't belong to Inuyasha." He began to dig his claws into Kagome's upper arms. "I own you."

"Koga...stop! Let go! You're hurting me!" Kagome squirmed underneath him, but her attempts were all in vain. "Stop, please. I'm begging you."

"I own you. And once we get what we want, nothing will be able to change that." Koga snarled, ignoring her pleas.

"What are you...talking about?" Kagome asked in confusion as she blinked up at him. He still hadn't released her and was still digging his claws into her, but she was more concerned about what he was telling her.

"I marked you, remember? You're all mine. I'll kill that mutt if I have to just to get what I want." Koga said.

"No...don't do this. You can have other people...why me?" Kagome asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I love you, that's why."

Kagome narrowed her eyes up at him. "You don't love me. If you did, you wouldn't be doing this!"

Koga growled and began digging his claws deeper into her arms. "I'll have to show you how much I love you, now won't I?" He then ripped her skirt off and leaned down and kissed her, pulling her shirt off as he did so.

"No!" Kagome shrieked as she sat up, sweating. She was gasping heavily, trying to get some air back into her lungs. Her heart was racing and she was trembling.

"Kagome?" Sango asked, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder, causing her to flinch. "Are you all right?"

Kagome sighed in evident relief. "Yeah...it was just a nightmare."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Sango asked, seeming to pry into Kagome's life. "You're sweating and you were mumbling and screaming in your sleep. What's the matter?"

Kagome gulped and looked around the small hut room. Miroku and Shippo were sound asleep and Kaede was probably in another room asleep. "Where's Inuyasha?"

"He's outside." Sango answered softly. "He seemed a little upset earlier. He would hardly talk and didn't even hit Shippo in the head for his smart remark. Do you know what's wrong with him? He seemed fine before he went off to get you and then he came back all depressed."

Kagome sighed and shifted uncomfortably in her sleeping bag. She could hardly remember what happened after she told Inuyasha in that clearing about what happened. She remembered that she was sobbing and that he was embracing her, but then it was all faint after that. She must have fallen asleep and he brought her back and put her to bed. "Did he bring me back?"

"Yes, you were sleeping in his arms. But you looked like you had been crying." Sango turned her body to face her in order to look her friend in the eyes. "Did...something happen between you and Inuyasha?"

Kagome glanced away before turning back to Sango. "Yeah...but it was only because of what happened earlier."

"Something happened earlier?" Sango inquired, cocking her head in confusion. "Do you mean with the demon that attacked?"

Kagome shook her heard. "No."

"Then...what happened?"

Kagome took in a deep breath. She could trust Sango. She was her best friend, after all. She wouldn't do anything to hurt her, unlike a certain someone. "After the demon attacked Inuyasha, which was really unfair since he snuck up on us and hit Inuyasha with a cheap shot to the back, I ran away like Inuyasha told me to. And I got lost and the demon was after me. Koga saved me and brought me to his cave. He said that if Inuyasha came by, he'd wake me up and let me go with him. But..." Kagome shuddered as the memory flooded back to her.

"But? Kagome, what happened?" Sango touched Kagome's shoulder tenderly.

"He...he tried to rape me. He marked me." Kagome moved her hair and turned to give Sango a view of the bruise on her neck.

Sango's eyes widened, "How did you get away?"

"I got him off of me and woke up one of his pack mates, you know, Ginta?"

Sango nodded.

"I told him that I wanted him to bring me back here. He said he would and walked out of the cave and I looked at Koga and he said that he wasn't finished with me yet." Kagome hugged herself tightly.

"Oh, Kagome. I'm so sorry." Sango pulled her friend into a tight hug. "If there's anything I can do, let me know."

"I will."

"Why do you think Koga attacked you like that?" Sango wondered aloud. She placed a hand on her chin to show that she was thinking.

Kagome looked down at the floor, her hair hiding her face. "It's my time of the month, that's why."

Sango looked up at her. "Oh, I see. It was his demonic instincts, wasn't it? He couldn't control himself."

"Yeah. I know." Kagome murmured softly. "I'm going outside to talk to Inuyasha, all right?"

"Sure." Sango said, lying back down. Kagome had made it to the doorway when Sango called her name. Kagome turned around to see what Sango wanted. "Be careful."

Kagome managed a weak smile. "I will." Then she walked outside into the early morning air. It was still foggy and it was so humid that Kagome began to sweat once more. "Inuyasha?" She called softly.

"I'm over here," a faint voice called.

Kagome followed it until she reached the base of a tree. She looked up into the thick branches and seen Inuyasha. He was perched up high with his arms folded across his chest. "Hey, how are ya?"

She heard him snort and seen him look away. "Why are you asking me if I'm ok? I wasn't the one who was messed with."

"Well," she said, sitting down on the ground, even though it was wet. "You did get hurt from that demon, remember?"

"Feh." Inuyasha muttered. "That was nothing. I'm almost healed already."

Kagome smiled. Same old Inuyasha with the same old attitude. He never changed. But she did see a side of him earlier that night that she hardly saw. He was jealous and angry at first when she told him, but then he changed his mood to comfort her. It was a very rare thing to witness, but it was also amazing at the same time. "That's good. I'm glad you're all right."

An awkward silence followed after her last sentence. Kagome gazed out into the thick fog that surrounded them. It was so thick that you could probably cut it with a knife. She turned her eyes up toward the sky and seen that the clouds were still there from the night before. It looked as if it were going to rain again.

"Kagome?"

Inuyasha's voice broke her from her stare. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry about all of this." His voice was extremely soft, which was almost unusual for someone such as Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled gently. "It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

No response came from the half dog demon that sat up in the tree. A few moments passed, which gave Kagome some time to think.

'I wonder what will happen now. I know Inuyasha's upset, but I don't know what to do to cheer him up. Maybe he'll come around.'

"I could've done something." Inuyasha went on. "I should have protected you."

"You were hurt. And it's no big deal really." Kagome said. She knew that it was, in fact, a major deal. "I'm fine, so please don't worry about me."

Without warning, Inuyasha leapt down in front of her, startling her. "No big deal?" He demanded. "Kagome, it is a big deal! He marked you, all right?"

Kagome peered up into his amber eyes. She didn't know what to say to his sudden outburst. She hated that word. Marked. What did it really mean, anyway? Did it mean that she was his forever, until they died? No, it couldn't have been it. Koga had said that he wasn't finished with her. Did that mean that there was something else he needed to do to make her completely his? If so, what was it?

She turned her gaze away and looked at the ground. Her hair fell and hid her face. "Inuyasha...could you tell me about markings and what they mean?"

Inuyasha flinched. "Um..."

She looked up at him. "I really want to know. I'm so confused right now."

"Well...There's several different types of mates and claims." Inuyasha said uneasily. She could tell that this was hard for him.

"What types of claims?" She wanted to know.

Inuyasha gulped, but when on explaining. "There's the scent claim. It's where a demon imprints its scent on a female to let other demons know that she is his intended, you know. Then there's the marking. And then the actual...mating."

"What's the difference between the claims?" Kagome asked.

"Well...demons make scent claims all the time." He blushed and turned away. "I, um...never mind. Anyway, demons make several different scent claims on different females until they choose one to mark. Marking is exactly what Koga did to you. It imprints his scent on you like a scent claim, but it doesn't heal as easily as normal bruises."

Kagome looked down at the ground. This was almost confusing, but she was with him so far. And what had he been going to say before he told her never mind? "Can any of these claims be...broken?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Well, sure. Scent claims are broken all the time, since they are made so easily. Marking is way more serious. It can be broken by rejecting the marker's claim. The bruise would heal over time. Or another demon can challenge the marker for the right to mate with the female, or just mate with the female without fighting at all. After they actually mate, it can't be broken until one of them dies."

Kagome gulped. She was beginning to perceive the situation. Koga had wanted to mate with her to make it official. If he had done it, it wouldn't have been broken until either one of them died. She suddenly felt sick. She placed a hand onto her stomach and placed another hand on her temple.

"Kagome, are you all right?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." She groaned. "I need to go home and get my medicine."

Inuyasha lifted her up without so much as a second thought and ran towards the well. "Let's go get it then." He leapt into the well and they were instantly enveloped by an ominous purplish light.

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Kagome and Inuyasha walked out of the shrine and into the humid, damp morning air. A few birds were chirping and everything was subtle. Inuyasha jumped up onto Kagome's balcony and she got it open and they went inside. There was no sign of any of her family members being awake.

Kagome shuffled through some of her belongings as Inuyasha sat on her bed, waiting patiently -- or it seemed like he was being patient, anyway. "Ah, found it!" Kagome said blissfully, holding onto a small bottle. A wide smile spread across her face and she ran to the bathroom.

Inuyasha stared after her and she reemerged after a few moments. "Are you done here?"

Kagome looked at him and smiled. "Could we stay for a little bit?"

Inuyasha growled and glared at her. "But you just came back yesterday!"

Kagome sighed. "I know...but I want to try and clear my head..."

Inuyasha observed her for a moment, almost as if he were looking into her soul -- the same soul that she shared with Kikyo. "That's not the only reason, is it?"

Kagome gulped. "What do you mean? Of course it's the only reason."

Inuyasha scoffed. "It's not and you know it. Stop lying to me, Kagome. You're afraid of him, aren't you? You want to stay here in order to get away from him. Am I right?"

Kagome turned away and smiled despite her sullen mood. He had figured it out, all right. "He said he wasn't finished with me, Inuyasha. Do you know what that means?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Duh, I'm not stupid. He plans on attacking again, but this time I won't let him anywhere near you, all right?"

Kagome only nodded, trying to stay confident. But the sickening feeling deep within her stomach wouldn't go away. She was scared, not only for her sake, but for Inuyasha's. What if he couldn't keep his promise and protect her? What if he failed and Koga got to her?

"Anyway," Inuyasha said, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm starving."

"Hang on and I'll fix you something to eat. Ramen, like usual?"

"Yeah."

Kagome turned and went downstairs and prepared some food for the both of them before bringing it all back up to her room. They began eating and watched the sunrise through Kagome's balcony window. The sky was ablaze with fiery red and beautiful orange. The colors were reflecting in Kagome's eyes as she stared out at the sky. She stopped eating -- suddenly not hungry -- and placed her bowl of food on her desk. She walked over to her bed and collapsed on top of it, sighing.

"You all right, Kagome?" Inuyasha wanted to know. He had finished his ramen and had tossed the empty container into the trashcan beside of her desk. He stood in the middle of her room and stared at her in concern.

"Yes...I'm just sleepy." She said with a yawn.

"Well, get some sleep. You had a rough night." Inuyasha said softly.

Kagome smiled and rolled over to look at him. "Come on. You should get some sleep, too." She moved over toward the wall to make more room for him.

Inuyasha was a little surprised at her offer, but folded his arms across his chest. "Keh, yeah right."

"Inuyasha, come on. You were up all night, too. Remember?" Kagome pleaded.

Inuyasha sighed and dropped his hands to his sides and crawled onto the bed next to Kagome. "Fine. I'll sleep for a little bit. You satisfied now?"

"Yep." Kagome replied, yawning again. She got comfortable and closed her eyes. An odd silence filled the room around them. Inuyasha felt somewhat uncomfortable, lying there, so close to Kagome. But it appeared as if she didn't mind -- or was she too tired to even notice their close proximity? Suddenly, she asked, "Inuyasha...do you remember when you were telling me about the markings?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You were about to say something, but you told me never mind. What were you about to say?" Kagome never once opened her eyes as she asked him this.

Inuyasha gulped. "Um...why do you wanna know?"

"I'm just curious." She answered quietly.

"Well, I was about to say that...I, um, had a scent claim on you before we met that fleabag." Inuyasha said uneasily, looking away.

Kagome's eyes shot open and she looked up at Inuyasha in shock. "You...did?" She seen Inuyasha nod, even though he wouldn't face her. "So I was...your intended?"

Inuyasha felt his face grow hot. Why did he have to go and slip up like that? Now she knew all about how he felt towards her. "Um...can we talk about this later?"

Kagome realized that he was very nervous and smiled gently. "Sure," she whispered. "We'll talk about it whenever you feel like it. Goodnight." She got comfortable once more and yawned before drifting off to sleep.

Inuyasha turned to look at her sleeping form. She knew that he had put a scent claim on her. She hadn't panicked when she found out, either. She simply accepted it.

He got comfortable and stared at her for a few moments. He would have to discuss it with her really soon, though it would not be an easy task. But he was prepared for it -- or he was pretty sure he was, anyway.

Yawning, he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

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A fearful cry awoke Inuyasha a couple of hours later. He leapt up and scanned the room, prepared to attack anything that appeared to be a threat. But he turned to face Kagome when he felt her trembling next to him. "Kagome?"

Kagome continued to shake, but looked up at him. She was sweating and looked as if she had seen a ghost. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She had stopped shaking. "I didn't mean to wake you up with my nightmares."

"Nightmares?" Inuyasha inquired. "Don't tell me...they're about him,aren't they?"

Kagome winced at the malice in his voice. Inuyasha had hated Koga before and now he despised him with a passion. She was only afraid of him and what he had planned for her. "Yes, they're about Koga." She seen him clench his fists and grit his teeth when she said his name. The one thing that Inuyasha and Koga had in common was that they hated it when someone mentioned the other's name. "Don't be angry..."

Inuyasha dropped his hand to his side and sighed. "Kagome...he marked you and scared you really bad. He deserves to pay."

"That very well may be true." Kagome replied. "I just...I don't want you to kill him. Not until he does something worse. If he does, anyway."

"Don't want me to kill him?" Inuyasha demanded heatedly, jumping to his feet. "Kagome, look what he did to you!"

"I know," she said, sounding somewhat ashamed. She looked away. "Why do you care so much, anyway?" She had a pretty good idea what his true answer was.

Inuyasha sighed and fell back onto the bed. He busied himself with looking out of the balcony window. "Look...if he messes with you again, I'm killing him. That's it."

"All right." Kagome said softly. She settled back down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Don't tell me you're planning on going back to sleep!" Inuyasha growled. "We have to get back."

Kagome sat up. "Fine. Come on, let's go back."

After Kagome had gotten her medicine, she climbed onto Inuyasha's back and they left and went through the well. When they emerged in the Feudal Era, Inuyasha leapt out swiftly and put Kagome on the ground, where they were instantly greeted by the others.

"Kagome!" Shippo cried, leaping into Kagome's arms. Kagome hugged the small fox child close to her chest.

"Where have you been?" Sango demanded. She raised an eyebrow.

"We went to her stupid era to get her medicine." Inuyasha said.

"You were there an awfully long time to just pick up some medicine." Miroku stated suspiciously.

"Relax, Miroku," Kagome spoke up, setting Shippo on the ground. "We decided to get some sleep while we were there. And we didn't do anything."

"I didn't say that you did." Miroku said defensively.

"You were implying it." Kagome shot back.

Sango chuckled and Miroku kept his mouth shut while they headed back to Kaede's village in order to get something to eat. Once they entered the old priestess's hut, Inuyasha plopped down against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. Kagome sat next to him and Sango and Miroku sat near the fire where Kaede's was, stirring some soup.

"Ah," she said softly. "Just in time for some food."

Inuyasha snorted. "I ain't hungry."

Kagome sighed and looked away. He'd be hungry later on and would be looking through her pack for some food -- ramen, like always -- and would probably end up waking her up to get her to prepare it for him since he had no knowledge of how it was done. He rarely paid attention, after all.

"I'm hungry, Kaede," Shippo said, smiling.

"I'm glad, child." Kaede said tenderly. She treated Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo as if they were her flesh and blood, despite the fact that they did not resemble each other in both appearance and personality. "Have all that ye desire."

"Thank you, Kaede." Shippo said with a big smile that seemed to stretch from ear to ear.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha worriedly. He was staring into the orange fire and seemed to be deep in thought. Kagome was concerned about him. She knew that he was upset over the whole Koga-marking-her-and-not-being-finished-with-her thing and wanted to kill him. But she couldn't just stand there and allow Inuyasha to kill Koga, who had been a good friend and had protected her on more than one occasion. Even though she was still afraid of him -- and what he had in store for her -- she just couldn't let Inuyasha murder Koga. It wouldn't be right.

And there was still the fact that they had to continue their search for Naraku and the jewel shards. Kagome would not stop that quest because a crazed wolf demon was chasing after her. She was the one who shattered the jewel, after all. It would be her to try and put it back together.

Without warning, something dawned on Kagome and she gasped. Inuyasha turned to look at her curiously. "Kagome, are you all right?"

Kagome gulped and tore her gaze from the fire in order to look into Inuyasha's amber eyes. "No, I'm not..."

"What is it, Kagome?" Sango asked worriedly. She had rose to her feet and was peering at Kagome in concern.

"Inuyasha...do you remember that demon that attacked us last night?" Kagome asked, even though her mouth had gone as dry as a desert.

"Yeah." Inuyasha answered gruffly. "What about him?"

"His jewel shard..." Kagome murmured. "When Koga killed him, he kept the shard. I don't have it! He does..."

Inuyasha leapt up angrily. "Why that mangy bastard. I'll really kill him for this!" With that said, Inuyasha raced out of the hut, Kagome screaming after him to stop. "No, don't!" She cried, chasing after him.

"Sango, do you know what is going on? Inuyasha and Kagome have been acting strange lately." Miroku looked at the demon slayer.

"Oh, nothing is going on," Sango said, as nonchalantly as she could. "Let's just go get Inuyasha before he gets himself hurt." She then turned and ran out of the hut with her Hiraikotsu.

"You know, Shippo," Miroku said irritably. "I have a feeling that no one wants me to know anything..."

"Who knows?" The fox child asked. "Let's just go." They raced out of the hut after Inuyasha and the others.

"Inuyasha, come back!" Kagome cried. He was running too fast and was leaving her behind and she had no idea where she was. As he disappeared into the thick, foggy night air, Kagome came to a stop and looked around nervously. If Koga was anywhere near there, he probably would have already came out after smelling her blood and everything. That's what happened last time.

"Inuyasha, where are you?" She called out timidly. "Come on, you don't need to mess with Koga!" She ran around blindly, trying to find her way through the dark woods, desperately searching for Inuyasha. "Inuyasha?" The only response she received was the call of an owl somewhere. She stood in the middle of the woods and spun around in circles, trying to find any familiar sign of life. Her attempts were all in vain.

But Kagome sensed four shards coming at an incredible speed. Realizing who it was, she tried to run, but a twister stopped in front of her, causing her to skid to a halt. She looked up fearfully and saw Koga. He was smirking. "Well, Kagome. How'd you get separated from the others?"

"That's none of your business!" Kagome shouted.

"Hostile. Don't tell me you're still upset with me." Koga's grin grew larger. "If you're not now, you might be later."

Kagome's eyes widened. "No, Koga. Don't do this!" She took a step back.

Koga reached out and seized her upper arms and pulled her close to him, slamming his lips against hers. Kagome was trying to pull away, but he placed a hand on the back of her head to keep her in one place. She was squirming in his iron grip, but she couldn't escape. He would not let her. She realized that he was going to try and finish what he started...

And no one was there to save her...

Her nightmares were becoming reality, right before her very eyes. And she couldn't escape...

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Note- There! End of Chapter Two! How was it? I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading and now, all you have to do is review! Thanks!

Demonic Miko