Chapter 7: Will you?
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but the storyline is mine.
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update… I've been updating every 2 days or so, but damn college stuff keeps getting in the way! Lol, but here's a new chapter so…WEE! ;) And thank you to those who reviewed! It makes it a lot easier to keep writing the story with that kind of support. - ) Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review and let me know what you think! azami
Last time: The monk closed his eyes, taking in the words she had just uttered to him, and felt the void in his heart become full. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he leaned into her, pressing his lips to hers. She fully accepted his kiss, leaning into him, feeling his warm breath pass between his lips. They stayed locked in their kiss for a long while, not wanting to let go of what they'd been waiting so long to have.
After they had gone a good distance from the camp, Inuyasha finally stopped and let loose Kagome's hand. He turned to her, and was met with an angry glare. "That hurt ya know!" She mumbled something to herself as she rubbed her wrist. "What'd you go and drag me out here for? It better be important after all that!" The hanyou lowered his ears at the sound of the young miko's irritated tone. He'd been so determined to address the issue that had been on his mind, that he hadn't realize how roughly he'd been pulling Kagome along behind him. By this time she had turned her attention to dusting off and straightening her clothes, and she was about to scold him again when she noticed that ears were lowered and his face carried a sad pout upon it. Her expression softened. "Inuyasha?"
He slumped onto a nearby log, and mumbled to himself, "Man…I'm already screwing this up…" Kagome approached him and sat down next to him, placing her hand on his arm. "Inuyasha…what is it? You can tell me…" He turned to look at her, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotion. It made Kagome nervous when he looked like this… it usually meant something bad was about to happen. The hanyou sighed heavily and began to speak.
"Kagome…look…here's the thing… I've been thinking about this a lot, and I haven't been sure when I should bring it up or if I even should at all. I don't even know how to say what I want to say without things getting awkward…and I'm sorry I pulled you out here like that.. I didn't mean to hurt you or anything. I just wanted to talk to you about this before I lost my nerve." Inuyasha sighed again, and shifted his gaze up to the sky. " You know, most of my life I've been rejected by almost everyone, except my mother…Kikyo wanted me to be human…other people just wanted me to be dead. But not you….you've been the only good thing in my life in…well…..almost ever…and I don't want that to end. I wanted to wait to do this until we were done with all of this…I've just kept my focus on that. But then I think about how it could be a really long time before that happens, and I've already been waiting 3 years to make any kind of move… and well….it wouldn't have to happen right away….and you can take as long as you need to think about it and whatever you decide I'll respect… but um…" Inuyasha turned his gaze to Kagome, looking deep into her questioning eyes.
"Kagome….would you be my mate?"
The words parted from his lips and seemed to take an eternity to float into her ears. Kagome suddenly burst into tears, burying her face in Inuyasha's chest. The confused hanyou put his arms around the girl, stroking her hair instinctively to soothe her. "Um….Kagome…I…uh….I'm sorry if that upset you…" The girl began to laugh and looked up at him, smiling through her tears. "Oh, Inuyasha! I'm not upset…I'm crying because I'm happy," she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug, still slightly confused, though glad that she wasn't upset. "So…um…Kagome…will you?" She raised her eyes to his, basking in the glow of his beautiful amber eyes, and smiled. "Yes, Inuyasha…I will be your mate." The hanyou cracked a grin that spread from ear to ear as he lifter her from her seat and swung them both in a circle. "Woo hoo!"
Finally he set her down, and pulled into a tight embrace; she returned the hug, nestling her head in his chest. When they parted, Inuyasha leaned into Kagome and pressed his lips to hers. This kiss was unlike any other they'd shared… it was deeper, more passionate. Kagome felt the heat rise up in her body, her limbs going limp with this euphoric sensation taking over her entire being. Inuyasha lightly brushed his tongue over her lips, asking for entry. She complied all too readily, accepting his tongue into her mouth, feeling it dance around her own. She returned the affection, entwining her tongue with his as she grasped his chest to keep standing. Without any thought, their hands began to explore that of the other, gliding gently over areas that were, before this moment, unknown. Finally, panting heavily, they parted. "Wow…," Kagome whispered, breathlessly. Inuyasha grinned, his chest heaving, "Yeah…."
After their most intimate encounter to date, the two sat together in the grass at the base of a tree, Kagome lounging comfortably in Inuyasha's lap. She'd been quiet for a long while, thinking about everything that had just happened. Then, she sat up and looked at him, contemplating. "Inuyasha," she said, "Since we're going to be mates now…does that mean we'll be…well…married?"
He thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, according to the yokai tradition we will be."
She nodded, smiling. "Well, could we have a regular ceremony too? So my family and friends can be there and stuff?"
He grimaced for a moment, the thought of all those people making such a big deal out of things, but he saw the hope in her eyes and finally agreed. "Alright….we can have a ceremony. But I'm not wearing one of those stupid suit things. I can't stand that clothing from your era. It's so goddam restrictive!"
For once, she giggled at his complaints, rather than getting angry with him. "You sure you don't mind?" she asked, but he knew that there was no getting out of it now. He nodded, and in return she whooped with excitement, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. He was glad to see that she was so happy about their intended union, so he decided that he would do whatever made her happy.
Kagome then rose from his lap, dusting off her clothes. "Hey, where you goin?" he asked, his look both puzzled and disappointed.
She looked down at him and smiled. "Well, being that we're doing all this talking about getting married, and I haven't even told my mother yet!"
He groaned in response, not moving from his spot. "We hafta go tell her now?"
Kagome nodded firmly, "Yes, Inuyasha. I'm not going to do anything else until I tell my mother." He still didn't move, figuring that if he was stubborn enough that she might give in. She crossed her arms over her chest, and pivoted her weight to one foot, staring down at him. He gulped a bit, knowing that was the "don't mess with me" stance.
"Fine! Don't come with me then. I'll go myself!" She turned on her heels and started heading in the direction of the well.
When she was a good ten feet away, he called out to her. "So does this mean we hafta wait to mate until AFTER the ceremony?"
He half-expected to be SAT into the next century, but instead she stopped and turned toward him. "Not necessarily. But like I said, I'm not doing anything else until after I talk to my mother." She winked at him, and smirked a bit.
Inuyasha jumped up from his seat and sprinted over to her. "Well, what're we waitin for then? Hop on!" She giggled and climbed onto his back. With that the overly eager hanyou bounded his way to the well.
Meanwhile back with Sango and Miroku…
The monk and the demon slayer had retreated to a more private area to bask in their newfound love. Meanwhile, that left Shippo and Kirara to stand guard of the campsite. Shippo sighed, patting Kirara on the head. "Man, what's with everyone? I'm just a little kid! I shouldn't hafta be seeing all this mushy stuff!" The kitsune grumbled to himself as he poked at the fire with a stick. Kirara mewed in response, cocking her head at Shippo. "Yeah, I know Kirara. It's all just confusing. I hope I don't grow up to be like that!"
"To be like what?"
Shippo jumped at the sudden sound of a voice speaking to him. He whirled around quickly and found Kaede standing behind him. "What is it that troubles ye, young one?" The old miko settled herself onto the log, patting the seat next to her. "Come and tell me what troubles you."
The kitsune sighed, taking a seat next to Kaede. "I just don't get what's going on with everyone, that's all. Kinda feel left out…"
The old miko chuckled, patting Shippo on the back. "The understanding will come to you in due time."
Shippo suddenly realized that they were no where near Kaede's village, and realized that she must've traveled a long way to find them. "By the way, Kaede, how come you're all the way out here? Is something wrong?" Shippo's face filled with alarm. Kaede shook her head.
"Nothing to worry on, child. I had traveled to a village nearby to assist in an exorcism, and caught wind of Inuyasha's aura. I come to see that Kagome is doing well after her terrible injuries," Kaede said.
Shippo nodded, "Yeah she seems to be doin' ok. She went off with Inuyasha awhile ago." Kaede nodded in response, seemingly pondering something. Suddenly she rose from her seat, walking back toward the horse she'd rode into the campsite. She mounted her horse carefully, and looked down at the kit. "Tell Kagome that I must speak with her soon. It be very important that she come to see me soon."
"Okay Kaede! I will!" Shippo called to her, waving as she rode away from the campsite. Just then, Shippo heard giggling and whispers heading in his direction, opposite the way Kaede had come. Sango and Miroku emerged from the trees, their hands clasped together, and heads resting against each other affectionately. "Hey Shippo," Sango greeted, through a giggle. Miroku was tickling her side and whispering in her ear. Shippo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Kaede was just here, ya know," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. They both looked with in slight alarm. "Kaede? What brought her here? Is something wrong?" Miroku inquired.
Shippo turned away, sticking his nose up in the air indignantly. "Hmph! Why should I tell you guys anything? Not like you've paid any attention to me!" Sango and Miroku glanced at each other.
"Well, Shippo, if you rather not tell us then I suppose we could just leave again…" Miroku began, baiting the lonely kitsune to respond. To further the bait, they both turned to leave, and Shippo ran after them.
"No, wait! Don't go, okay! Jeez!" They stopped and looked at him again, waiting for him to provide them with an answer. "Kaede was traveling back from a village that she performed an exorcism at and noticed Inuyasha's aura and came this way to check on Kagome. She said she needs to talk to Kagome real soon. I dunno what for though," Shippo rattled off.
Sango nodded, "Hm…I wonder what Kaede wants to talk to Kagome about…it must be important." Miroku nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it must be. We should probably get her back to the village to see to what Kaede needs to speak with her about. Speaking of Kagome…where are she and Inuyasha?"
At the other side of the well….
Kagome lifted herself out of the well, and Inuyasha followed quickly after. "Okay… now, let me do the talking, Inuyasha. I don't want my mom freaking out or something," Kagome warned, her hands perched on her hips.
"Feh, like I wanna talk anyways," he replied, sporting his usual scowl.
"And jeez, try not to look so pissed off! We are going to tell my family that we're getting married, ya know!" She shot him a warning look, letting him know that she meant business.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with." He started toward the door of the temple. "You comin' or not?" Kagome shook her head at him, smiling a bit. "He's a such a jerk sometimes..but I love him." She sighed to herself and followed him out of the temple.
They entered the house and found her mother in the kitchen. "Kagome! Inuyasha! What a pleasant surprise!" She beamed at them, and approached to hug them both hello. "Hi, Mom," Kagome said, hugging her mother back.
"Are you low on supplies already? I just went to the store yesterday, so there's plenty here to stock up on!" Her mother chirped, motioning toward the kitchen cabinets.
Kagome laughed nervously, unsure of how to approach the subject of marriage with her mother. "Well…um…actually, Mom…" she began.
Her mother could sense that the two young people in front of her had come for a very serious reason indeed. "Right on schedule…" she thought to herself. Kagome's mother then nodded, "Why don't we sit down and talk. I'll brew some tea."
Wow…Inuyasha and Kagome are gonna be mates! Like we didn't see that coming…but what's Kagome's mother talking about? And why does Kaede have to speak to Kagome? Hmm…what's going on here? The new moon is approaching soon and the group must prepare for their meeting with Kagura…does all of this tie in together? What's going on? Guess you'll have to read next time to find out! Thanks for reading! Please review! (Constructive criticism and question welcome!) Till next time, my pets. ;) azami