A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little longer to get out than I planned. I got busier than I expected over the holiday. I should have the next one out faster. I alsodidnt get a chance to post theunedited version on mediaminer yet, but I will be working on that later today.
Warning...This chapter did have a lemon in it but it has been edited though you will still know that a sexal situation is taking place though there are no specifics...Be warned and skip thesection just before the last if you don't want to read it...
I have now posted the first four chapters on mediaminer I hope to have all of them done by tomorrow. So for the unedited version of this fic you can look under the same title or inufan625...
InuYasha wasn't expecting it but he felt like someone had driven a knife into his gut and he doubled over. Then he heard Kagome scream along with the other woman. He watched as the neko came from the other side of the house running for the door. InuYasha pushed aside the pain and stepped in front of him.
"Move." the neko hissed. InuYasha growled. He had to protect Kagome. The neko slashed at him, but he dodged it. "I will see my mate."
"Wait." InuYasha said. "Give her time."
"Time to what, kill her?" he said. The wrestled for a few moments and then the screaming stopped. InuYasha heard Kagome softly say his name. He let the neko go and opened the door. The woman was out of breath but sitting up, trying to keep Kagome from falling out of the chair.
He went to Kagome and took her in his arms. He growled. "What happened to her?" His eyes flashed red.
The woman smiled. "She healed me." she said. "She told me to tell you that she'll be fine. She seemed to think you wouldn't let her do it if you knew what it would do to her."
The neko went to his mate and sniffed her. "She really is better." he commented. The little girl came running into the room and jumped on the bed. Her mother hugged her.
"Tell her I am forever in her debt." the woman said to InuYasha. He nodded. He carried Kagome toward the front door, nuzzling her neck the whole way trying to get her to stir.
The neko helped him put her in the car. "I'm sorry for what I thought." he said. "Thank you." InuYasha just nodded.
He parked in front of his house instead of in the back because it was close to the entrance to the main house. He carried Kagome up to the door before kicking it open. He went straight to the office and kicked that door open as well.
Sesshomaru was expecting him. He had received an unusual phone call from the leader of the neko clans. Though they had never challenged his power or authority they had never gotten along and he wasn't expecting their support. They had declined attending the dinner he had arranged, but because of something the miko had done they would be attending.
"Can you help her?" InuYasha asked.
"What happened?" he replied.
"She healed the mate of a neko youkai and them passed out. She won't wake up." he told him.
Sesshomaru pulled a book off the shelf and opened it. He called in a servant and instructed him to make the tea exactly as prescribed. He handed the book to InuYasha. It was a recipe for a restorative tea to be given to a miko who has over extended her powers.
"Are you aware that the woman your miko healed was the mate of the younger son of the leader of all the neko clans." Sesshomaru asked. InuYasha shook his head. "How did you become acquainted with this youkai?"
InuYasha told him about the man who attacked Kagome and how the youkai had stepped forward to back him up. He also told him how Kagome had insisted that they were supposed to help them. "Why do you care?" InuYasha asked.
"This Sesshomaru cares not. I simply like to be informed." he replied.
The servant returned with the tea and InuYasha held Kagome as he slowly poured the mixture into her mouth. With the cup emptied he waited to see how long it would take. Less than a minute later he got his answer. Her breathing lightened and he could tell she was starting to stir. He nuzzled her cheek softly encouraging her to wake.
"InuYasha?" she said questioningly.
"Are you all right?" he asked. She nodded. "Good." He stood up with her in his arms.
"I can walk you know." she told him.
He ignored her and headed for the door. On his way out he turned back. "Thanks." he mumbled to his brother, and left. He took her back to his house and sat her on the couch.
"That woman, Kimi, was she all right?" Kagome asked.
"Yes. You healed her." he told her. "Are you sure you are okay?" Kagome nodded. InuYasha pulled her to him. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."
"I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't like it, but I had to do it." she told him.
InuYasha sighed. "I know." he replied. Then the sound of the ringing phone grabbed their attention. He got up and answered it. "Hello...Something came up.... That would be fine... Thank you."
"Who was it?" She asked.
"It was the jewelry store." he said. "But don't worry about that. You should be resting."
"But I'm fine." she protested.
"Consider it payback for not being completely honest with me about what was going to happen earlier today." he told her.
She sighed. Honestly she was still a little tired and really didn't mind being told to rest, but she couldn't let him know that. "All right, but only because I should have told you." she said. "But don't get used to me doing whatever you tell me to." She went to their room and shut the door.
A short while later the store owner arrived with the rings. InuYasha thanked the man and promised that any future needs he had would be brought to his store. He went to the bedroom and found Kagome sound asleep. Ha, I knew she was tired. He laid down beside her.
"InuYasha?" she said softly as he put his arm around her.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." he replied.
She turned to him. "That's all right. I feel much better now." she told him.
"If you're up to it I have something I want to give you." he said. "That is if you want it." He held the ring out to her. "So, will you marry me?"
She smiled and nodded, holding her hand so that he could put the ring on her finger. Once it was done she leaned over and kissed him. "You didn't have to do this." she told him.
"I wanted to." he replied.
"Would it be all right with you if we asked may family and Miroku and Sango out to dinner tonight, so we can tell them about us?" she asked.
"Whatever you want to do is fine with me." he replied.
"InuYasha?" she asked.
"What?" he asked in return.
"Well, I spent all my money today and well..." she started.
"Kagome if you are asking me if I will pay for the dinner tonight don't." he interrupted. "All that I have is yours. You don't even have to ask." She nodded. "So what did you spend your money on. I didn't see you have anything earlier."
"It's in my purse." she replied. "Come on I'll show you."
In the living room she took out the rosary she had purchased. "What's that?" he asked.
"The man in the shop said it was a subduing necklace for a hanyou a long time ago. I had a vision of you wearing it when he told me the story." she told him. "Maybe you should hold it and see if anything comes to you." He took the beads from her and as soon as he did he was overcome with images.
He was chasing someone. Then he realized the someone was Kagome. She had something he wanted, the Shikon no Tama. He needed it to become a full demon. She was running from him and he slashed at her, just missing.
As she fled and elderly miko sent out the beads and they reformed around his neck but he ignored them continuing to pursue Kagome. Then she dropped the jewel and he had it in his grasp.
"Say the word to calm his soul." the elderly miko called.
"What?" Kagome asked.
"Hurry." the miko replied.
He watched as KAgome studied him intently for a moment. He watched her eyes flick up to his ears. "Oswari." she yelled and he went crashing face first into the bridge and through it, dropping the jewel.
He shook his head and his eyes met Kagome's. "Oswari, huh?" he asked.
She blushed "So you saw it then, what the beads do?" she asked. "You're not mad are you?"
"Well I was trying to kill you, so I guess it's only fair." he replied.
"You tried to kill me?" she asked.
"I thought you had a vision." he replied.
"I did but mine was you trying to stop me from going home to take a test and I used the beads so I could get away." she told him. "What did you see?"
"You had the shikon no tama and I wanted it to become a full demon, so I tried to get it from you. An old miko sent these beads to my neck and you used them to keep me from getting away with the jewel." he said. "I don't think I was really trying to kill you though, just scare you. It does make me wonder how we ended up together though."
Kagome laughed. "I thought the same thing." she replied. "The way we yelled at each other it seemed like a common thing. Maybe it was an act."
He shrugged. "I don't care what it was as long as I have you now." he told her.
"Neither do I." she agreed. "So do you want to see if they still work?"
"Hell no." he said looking horrified.
"I was only joking. I have much better ways to subdue you and bend you to my will." she told him.
"Is that so?" he asked. She only nodded in reply, leaning closer to him. "I'd like to see that." She reached up and started rubbing his ears and she moved to trail kisses along his jaw and down to his neck. He growled softly.
Kagome pulled away and waited for him to open his eyes. "See." she said with a laugh. "Now I am going to call everyone and see if they can come out with us tonight."
"I hope you realize that you're going to pay for that later." he called after her.
"I'm counting on it." she replied.
Kagome called Sango and as it would turn out she and Miroku had been planning to go out to dinner, but were more than happy to go with her and InuYasha. They arranged to meet at the restaurant at 7. Next Kagome called her mother and arranged to pick up her, Souta and Shippou at 6:30.
That night they arrived at the restaurant to find Miroku and Sango already waiting at their table. Once they were all seated and their drinks served Kagome got ready to announce her news. She looked at her mother. Kagome could tell that her mother had a pretty good idea why she had called everyone to dinner. Kagome released InuYasha's hand and set it on the table. "We're getting married." she announced.
The table broke out in sincere congratulations from all gathered. Miroku raised his glass. "Let me propose a toast to InuYasha and Kagome. May they be blessed with happiness, love and good se..." Miroku groaned as Sango elbowed him in the ribs. "Love and Happiness for all of their days."
They enjoyed dinner and when it came time to leave Sango hugged her. "You'll have to call me later, so we can talk about last night." Sango whispered. "I want details."
Kagome blushed. "We'll get together later this week. I promise."
Miroku hugged Kagome. "You will make a beautiful bride. I'm sure." he told her.
"You know Sango would make a beautiful bride as well." she whispered. Miroku blushed and Kagome heard InuYasha laughing softly beside her at his reaction.
They dropped Kagome's mother and Souta off a the shrine and continued toward home. When they drew close to Miroku and Sango's apartment they were stopped and traffic was redirected. Kagome had a bad feeling and asked InuYasha to pull over. She saw a column of smoke filling the sky. She found Miroku and Sango a short distance away watching the flames shoot out of their window. She ran to them.
"Are you all right?" she asked as she approached. "What happened?"
"We were about to go in when Miroku said he sensed a youkai. We decided to leave and before we could even get down the stairs we heard a small explosion." Sango told her. "There is no doubt the fire started in our apartment, or that it was intentional."
"Come with me." Kagome said. "You can stay with me and InuYasha tonight."
Miroku and Sango followed her to InuYasha's car. He was standing a few feet away waiting for her to return. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Someone set their apartment on fire." Kagome told him. "It..."
InuYasha held up his hand. His ears twitched and he sniffed the air. In less than a second Kagome found herself laying on top of Miroku and Sango on the ground with InuYasha doing his best to cover all three of them. Behind them his car exploded.
After a few moments he climbed off of them. Kagome jumped to her feet. "Shippou." she yelled. "Shippou, please can you hear me."
"I'm over here." he called.
She found him beside a dumpster a few feet behind the burning car. She saw a small cut on his face but otherwise he looked unharmed. She hugged him. "You're all right?" she asked.
"Yeah. I smelled something funny and got out of the car." he told her. The he sniffed again and his eyes found InuYasha leaning heavily on his shoulder against the wall beside him. "Kagome... InuYasha."
She went to him, and noticed what she had missed when she went to Shippou. A rather large sharp piece of metal was embedded in his back. "InuYasha, oh my god, we have to do something." she cried.
He pulled out his phone. "Call Sesshomaru Hold two." he whispered as he slid to the ground.
Kagome looked in horror at the blood that had pooled at his feet. She called his brother.
"Hello." came a clearly annoyed male voice..
"Sesshomaru?" she asked.
"Who else would be answering my emergency line?" he asked in reply. "Who is this?"
"Kagome." she told him. "It's InuYasha. I think he's dying." She started to cry.
"Where are you?" he asked. She told him. "You must get him away from there. The police will no doubt soon be arriving. I will find you." He hung up.
They moved InuYasha away from the street and between some buildings. She took off her light jacket and wrapped it around the outside of his wound to try and slow the bleeding. Sango and Miroku stood by watching, wishing they could do something. Soon Kagome felt the approach of a strong youkai.
Sesshomaru took in the sight of his brother. He reached down and pulled the metal from Inuyasha and the blood now flowed freely. Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru. "Are you just going to stand there?" she asked.
"There is nothing to be done until he dies." he replied coldly.
"He can't die." she said. "I won't let him." She covered his body with her own as sobs over took her. Soon both Kagome and InuYasha were surrounded in a soft pink glow. Miroku said a quick prayer at what he was witnessing. Sango and Shippou watched with wide eyes, while Sesshomaru tried to appear uninterested.
In truth he was very interested in what was taking place. Could it be done? Could a miko heal a youkai without killing it? Of course despite his new power InuYasha was still a hanyou, but would her healing him turn him human? If she could heal youkai without purifying them completely she would be even more remarkable.
The light faded and Kagome didn't sit up, though her tears had stopped. InuYasha groaned loudly and opened his eyes. The first thing that registered on his mind was Kagome laying on top of him. He tried to lift her but found he didn't have the strength. He could feel his youki was greatly diminished. He doubted his own ability to walk.
Sesshomaru bent down and picked Kagome up. He looked at InuYasha who was unchanged but clearly weakened. He turned to Sango and Miroku. "Bring him to my car." he ordered, and left for his car not waiting to see if they were following.
Sango and Miroku exchanged curious glances before doing as instructed. Shippou climbed in the limo and sat at Kagome's feet. They helped InuYasha in and he pulled Kagome's head into his lap. Sango and Miroku filled in and sat down.
"What happened?" InuYasha asked, as they drove away.
"Your miko healed you." Sesshomaru replied. "This does not bode well that they would strike so soon. From now on you will be escorted by members of my security team at all times."
Though Sango and Miroku wanted to know what was going on they both felt it best to wait and ask InuYasha and Kagome later. Obviously someone had tried to kill InuYasha and Kagome. What they didn't know was why.
They exited the car. "I will have the tea sent over for your miko." Sesshomaru said and he left them.
As much as InuYasha hated it he had to let Miroku carry Kagome inside and he had to let Sango help him. He directed them to his room and Miroku laid Kagome on the bed. InuYasha sat down beside her.
"What is going on?" Sango asked. "Why is this happening and what's wrong with Kagome?"
"Kagome is exhausted." Miroku told her. "Healing expends more energy than any other task she can preform as a miko. I am still at a loss as to how she managed to heal him without purifying his youki."
"What about everything else?" Sango asked.
"There is a demon out to start a war." InuYasha told them. "He wants youkai to rule humans and to do that he knows he had to get rid of the clan that rules the western lands. You both got dragged into this mess because you know me."
"Are you telling me that your brother is the demon lord of the west?" Miroku asked. InuYasha nodded. A knock at the door prevented further discussion.
Sango left and came back with a cup of tea. InuYasha gave it to Kagome and she soon started to stir. "InuYasha." she said. "Where is he...Is he all right?"
He reached out to soothe her. "I am here koishii." he told her. "Relax."
She sat up and threw her arms around him. "I was so worried." she said softly. "I thought you were going to die."
"It takes more than that to kill me." he scoffed. He turned to Sango and Miroku. "The room next door is the guest room. It has a separate bathroom. Make yourselves at home and I'll get you both something to wear." They nodded and left. He stayed for another minute in her arms. "Let me take care of them and then I'll be back to take care of you." She nodded.
A few minutes later he returned. The first thing he did was removed his blood soaked shirt and pants. Kagome went to him and wrapped her arms around him. He could feel her tears on his chest. "I don't know what I would have done if you had died." she said.
He raised her head. "Don't cry." he told her. "Let's take a shower. I'm sure we'll both feel better after that and then we can talk. Okay?" She nodded and let him lead her into the bathroom.
They got in the shower and InuYasha began to rub the now mostly dry blood from his body. Kagome took the rag he was using from his hand and started working to clean his back. He felt her hand run across the place where his wound used to be, briefly, before continuing to remove the blood. His body clean she set to work on returning his hair to its natural silver color. When she was finished he did the same for her, though she didn't have nearly as much blood on her.
He got out of the shower and handed her a towel. She sat down to dry her hair and he left the bathroom. The noise from the dryer hurt his sensitive ears. She came out still wrapped in a towel and sat on the edge of the bed. He sat down beside her. She was trembling and he could smell her tears. InuYasha put his arms around her.
"I'm sorry." he said softly. "This is all my fault. You shouldn't have to deal with stuff like this. Maybe you should leave."
Kagome looked at him, something akin to panic in her eyes. "You don't want me here?" she asked.
He hadn't expected her to take what he said in that way. "That's not what I meant." he replied. "I just thought it might be best if you left until all this is over and then we can be together."
"I don't want to go." she told him. "What if something happened to you and I wasn't here. Please, let me stay with you."
"Of course you can stay. I want you with me always." he said. "I just wish there was something I could do to make this better."
"There is." she replied. He looked at her expectantly. "Make love to me InuYasha."
Even as the words left her lips he was moving closer to her. As soon as she said his name he kissed her. Their towels fell away as they moved as one further onto the bed. He felt her hands slide up into his hair and then move to rub his ears. He trailed soft wet kisses down her collar bone. His efforts were rewarded with a soft moan. He moved his attention to her neck, and whispered soft I love yous.Already she knew she would have no life without him. She was afraid to let go of him and find that this was a dream.
InuYasha seemed to sense the quiet desperation in her grip. He moved slowly and kissed her willing her to understand. He needed her as desperately as she needed him. "I will always be with you." he said gently. Hoping to at least temporarily drive the fear from her mind.
"InuYasha." she cried. "Oh Inu..."
He silenced her cries, by pressing his mouth over her own. All he could think about as she called his name was how he loved her, how she made him feel whole in a way he never had before. He knew she was where he was supposed to be. Nothing else mattered. That one day she would give him his own family, something he had always longed for. Finally he kissed her one last time.
InuYasha moved to lay beside her and pulled her against him. "I love you ." he said.
"I love you too." she replied. They lay for sometime content in each others arms. "InuYasha?"
"Yes." he said.
"Well, I was just thinking about tonight." she told him. "When I saw the car and thought Shippou had been inside, and then well we just you know and well we haven't been using anything. He could have been killed."
"Are you telling me you are worried about getting pregnant and that it might be dangerous?" he asked. She nodded her response. "Don't worry about it. It won't happen."
"How can you be sure?" she asked. Kagome found herself secretly afraid that he meant he couldn't have children and though she would still love him, it would hurt her that he hadn't told her before she consented to be with him.
"The only times I can conceive are on the new and full moon and even then you have to be in your fertile time as well." he told her. "So don't worry. All right?" She nodded again and he kissed her forehead. "Good, now get some sleep my koishii."
"Goodnight InuYasha." she said as she let herself drift into sleep.