Inutori: Here's another chapter, as promised! (half a year later...)
Kagome: Though really, it doesn't make up for that long period of not updating squat.
Inutori: Well...meh! By the way, for all of those delusional enough to think I'm Rumiko Takahashi: I'm not, and therefore don't own the Inuyasha characters. The only one that belongs to me that I'd prefer you refrain from kidnapping is Inutora. That all makes sense, no?
Kagome: No.

Chapter 10
Mating Ritual

The silence between us is awkward, to put it lightly. We've been standing in Inuyasha's room for a few minutes, one of us on either side of the room.

I have a feeling that, because I've already been 'bitten,' it is now my turn to make the first move. A blush spreads across my cheeks as I recall Inutora's instructions. There is no way that I'll be able to do this calmly.

Taking a deep breath, I step forward, approaching Inuyasha slowly. I think Inuyasha's starting to get a bit flushed in the cheeks as well, but that might be my imagination. Finally, after what seems an hour has passed, I'm standing in front of him, craning my neck to look up at his face.

This is going to be awkward.

I reach up with both hands and loop them around his neck, pulling him down to my level. With another breath for courage, I lean into his body and clamp my teeth on the point where his shoulder meets his neck.

A strange sensation meets me as I taste his slightly salty skin and push my teeth in. Inutora said I'd know when I had bit his soul, but how is that exactly?

I nearly jump away from the silver-haired prince when his hand pushes into the back of my head. He's shoving me into his neck! As the force of his hand increases, I suddenly feel something slowly swirling beneath Inuyasha's skin and under my teeth.

An instinct I didn't know I had kicks in and I bite down slightly harder on Inuyasha's neck, feeling the distinct breaking of whatever that strange feeling was. Inuyasha releases his hold on my head and I step back, looking up into his golden eyes.

He's looking at me, but I can't really read the emotions hidden in those eyes. So much for the eyes being the window to the soul; it's the neck. I can't help but smile a little with that thought, my eyes closing slightly with my little joke.

Before I know it, Inuyasha's body is suddenly pressed against mine and our necks are pressed against each other. Ah yes, that's right: the next step.

Not knowing how long this is supposed to take exactly, I don't dare move, instead opting for studying the wall of Inuyasha's quarters. It's just as boring as the plating of Inutora's room. Just some sort of metal with bolts holding the hull together. Whatever happened to interior decorating?

Time is dragging by, and I don't know how long we've been standing here, but my feet are beginning to get tired and I think my arms are falling asleep.

"Er…Inuyasha? How long do you think this is supposed to take?" This is an uncomfortable position, after all. It is actually probably even more painful for Inuyasha, who is bent over to make this possible.

"Keh. How am I supposed to know? I've never mated before."

Well, that is the intelligent response of the century. "Well isn't it nice to know that I'll be your first mate." I narrow my eyes at the wall, wishing Inuyasha could see the glare on my face. "I was just wondering if maybe we could sit down or something."

Inuyasha doesn't answer me, so I take it as a no. I guess a girl can dream, right? I'm not exactly marrying prince charming so I can't expect to be treated properly.

A few moments pass by in silence before I hear the shuffling of material as Inuyasha begins to move. Within a split second, Inuyasha's left hand is holding my neck to his and his right hand is grabbing my butt.

I let out an indignant squeal, but his arms keep me from doing much else. My face is getting darker by the moment as Inuyasha's hand digs into my rear and my feet are lifted off the ground. Shrieks continue to escape my mouth and Inuyasha creeps his hand along my body to get a firmer grip.

"Shut up, woman, I'm moving us so we can sit down."

Oh. That explains it. But still…does he really have to grope me in the process? "Gomen. Thank you, then."

"Keh. Whatever, wench."

I don't say anything in response, though I have to bite my tongue to keep that silence. Inuyasha is, after all, trying to be at least a bit nice to me and I shouldn't be overly cruel to him.

My eyes close with a sigh and I relax slightly in his hold, trying to put my mind on other things. Maybe search out a more embarrassing moment than this to dwell on. Nope…this definitely tops the cake of humiliating experiences.

I can feel as Inuyasha sits down on his bed with me on his lap. He adjusts my body, my muscles not responding to the urging from my brain. Soon enough, I'm kneeling over Inuyasha, straddling him and seated on his lap while our necks are still pressed together.

My mind loses focus as I shift slightly to relax against Inuyasha's chest. He is kind of comfy and warm; besides the fact that I'm stuck here for who-knows-how-long.

Eyes closed, I barely make note of the sensation running over my lower back. Realizing something doesn't equate, I focus on that unfamiliar feeling. After a moment, I realize that it's Inuyasha's claw tracing invisible designs on my back.

Based on how it feels, it appears Inuyasha has lifted up my shirt slightly to attack my bare skin.

"Ano…Inuyasha…what are you doing and why?" I sit my chin against his shoulder, trying to keep my concentration and not lose my mind to the soothing feeling his claw was giving my muscles and head.

"I'm amusing myself. It's dull just sitting here." He speaks in a bored tone, adding volumes to his already obvious statement.

"Oh." It makes sense, I admit; but that still doesn't mean I gave him permission to touch me the way he is doing now. Just like I didn't give him permission to bite my soul!

Well, if he's using me as entertainment, I'll use him for the same purpose: provided I can keep focus on something other than his fingers on my back.

No more words are past between us for quite awhile and I am nearly asleep, running my hands through Inuyasha's silky white hair. I wonder what kind of shampoo he uses to make it so soft? Hopefully he'll share it with me.

It feels like hours have gone by and nothing out-of-the-ordinary has happened yet. Inuyasha had rolled up my shirt earlier so it was out of his way and I find myself not really caring, as odd as that is. His cool fingers constantly circling on my back makes the silence a bit more interesting by interrupting it with gasps and the arching of my back to escape the cold fingers every once in awhile.

"I think I could learn to love her."

Is Inuyasha talking to me? And if he is, man, was that random. Who's he talking about anyway?

"You heard me?" I can feel Inuyasha tense and his hands grab the sides of my waist.

Err…I didn't say anything, how can he know if I heard him? And I'm not deaf anyway.

"But you wanted to know if I was talking to you."

"No, I only thought that." Is Inuyasha on something? And if he is, why isn't he sharing?

"You had to have said it out loud. I'm not on anything, don't insult me." His voice is gruff and I can tell that he isn't in a joking mood. "Stupid wenches and their need to put others down."

"But…if that's the case…then…" We must be able to hear each other's thoughts. Creepy. Talk about a loss of privacy.

"Keh. You shouldn't butt in to my head. I don't want you knowing what I'm thinking."

A smirk makes its way to my face as I tilt my head more into Inuyasha's neck. "Like that thought about learning to love me?"

Inuyasha's hands tighten on my waist and his back straightens, signaling that I have hit it right on the mark; that and his thoughts were screaming 'YES!' "Keh. Don't flatter yourself."

"Hey, I think this was what Inutora-sama meant by 'connected in heart,' so I think we don't have to sit like this anymore." Just as I say this, Inuyasha and my stomachs growl in unison.

"Keh. Good thing too. It's past dinner time by now and I'm starved."

I sit up to look Inuyasha in the eye, breaking our contact at the neck. "Dinner? But I haven't even had lunch!" Being on this ship has really been messing with my eating habits.

"That's a personal problem, wench."

If I could, Inuyasha would be so dead right now. Instead of ending his life though, I shuffle off of the bed and stand up, looking down at Inuyasha. A cold feeling rushes through my body and I struggle to stay standing.

Whatever I'm experiencing, I'm not facing it alone. In front of me, Inuyasha's face has paled and his eyes are beginning to look strange. Remembering something else Inutora mentioned, I lean forward and grab Inuyasha's hand.

Immediately my body feels normal and I can see the color returning to Inuyasha's face. He looks at me strangely and I feel my cheeks heating slightly. It was Inutora that said that we need to have skin contact at almost all times if we didn't "consummate" the coupling.

"Skin…contact…huh?" Eyeing Inuyasha as he speaks, I can see the cherry blossoms that are normally known as his cheeks. At least this isn't embarrassing to just me.

I find myself nodding timidly in response to Inuyasha's question, not trusting myself to speak at the moment.

We walk to the mess hall holding hands, no words spoken between us. I haven't been hearing any of Inuyasha's stray thoughts, so I can only assume that whatever that connection earlier was is gone for now. At least I'm not experiencing any pain currently.

In the eating area, I see a few people finishing off a variety of foods from green mush (is that really food?) to a tub of chocolate ice-cream. The ice-cream is in the possession of that small fox-like child with auburn hair. Is it really a good idea to let a kid that size eat that much ice-cream? The bucket looks to be about as big as him.

Inuyasha pulls on my hand and I stumble clumsily after him towards what must be the kitchens…or whatever they had as far as kitchens go on a spaceship. Maybe they had some sort of protein synthesizer or something that imitated any food you wanted like all those Star Trek thingies have.

Oh, I hope not; that sounds disgusting.

Fortunately, it seems luck is on my side as I can see over a serving counter into an area that appears to be a kitchen with what must be a cook cleaning up. So I'm not going to have to eat anything out of a protein synthesizer; that is a big relief.

Inuyasha starts talking to the dude in the kitchen, but I zone him out and take in the large room. Even after two days on the ship, I still had not been in many areas of the place and am curious about the craftsmanship.

It looks like a mix between a Starbucks and a school cafeteria. Well, that's an interesting combination, if I do say so myself. But I'm not the decorator of the ship…thank Kami…

"Wench, come on." I jerk around to look at Inuyasha, who is holding a tray with food substances balanced on it. With a nod he drags me to a table in the back corner and sets the food down.

Next he pushes me into one of the hard seats and sits down across from me. He ducks under the table and I nearly bolt when his free hand wraps around my ankle. What is he doing?

Despite my questioning stare, I can feel Inuyasha removing my sock, not making eye contact with me. My eyes widen considerably as I feel my foot being moved under Inuyasha's shirt to press against his firm stomach. The muscles I'm sure I have somewhere refuse to obey my brain's demands, and my foot remains motionless.

"Er…Inuyasha?" My face is feeling unusually hot, and despite my growling stomach, I'm not sure I have much of an appetite.

"Keh. Don't get the wrong idea, girl. I just want to eat with both hands." He doesn't even have the gall to look up and say that to my face. Feeling a bit angry, I snatch some food off of the tray and chomp down.

Ooh. Inuyasha is so infuriating. Someday I will annoy him as much as he annoys me in revenge. That is…if no one locks me in a padded room and throws away the key first.

Dinner is eaten in silence, the only interaction between us being when Inuyasha finishes his own food and tries to steal mine. I swat away his hand once again and continue ingesting my meal.

If my ears aren't deceiving me, I think I hear Inuyasha make a sound that sounds like "keh" before he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. My foot involuntarily twitches against his abdomen, and I duck my head towards the table as Inuyasha shoots a glare at me.

After a few minutes of suffering under his glare. "Fine, my appetite's gone. Dig in." I shove my food across the table and sigh as Inuyasha immediately devours it. Talk about a lack of manners.

He quickly finishes off the food and grabs a hold of my hand, dragging me over to the kitchens to drop off the tray before leaving the mess hall. I find myself stumbling to try and keep up with Inuyasha as he storms through the maze of halls that make up this ship.

With an indignant huff I realize I'm still lacking a sock just before my foot makes contact with some sticky substance of unknown origin. How rude; I hope he didn't leave my sock in the mess hall. I only have the clothes on my back, after all.

Before I realize it, we're standing on the bridge, with Inutora's back to us.

A black ear twitches in our direction, signifying that the captain heard our entrance, before the raven-haired sister of my…mate, was it?…turned to look at us.

"I assume, by your presence here, that everything has been accomplished as per my instructions."

"Keh." I look out of the corner of my eye at Inuyasha: there was that strange sound again. If he makes it so often, why haven't I noticed it before? "We dropped from light speed while the wench was stuffing her face. Why?"

My eyes narrow as Inuyasha's insult sinks in. I am no wench and I did NOT stuff my face. He was Mr. I-have-no-table-manners, not me. Nevertheless, I keep my mouth shut and just continue to listen to the exchange between the siblings.

"I told you, we're picking up Miroku."

"But I thought you had no idea where he was." I watch as Inuyasha's face seems to take on a tint of green. That's interesting.

"True, but luckily I have many contacts throughout the empire and he was spotted on a nearby planet. We're waiting for permission to land as we speak."

"Keh." There it was again! The sound is so strange, I wonder where he picked it up from…

I'm jerked out of my thoughts as Inuyasha turns and walks briskly off the bridge. Once again I'm forced to follow behind him clumsily, trying desperately to keep my precarious footing.

Shortly, I find myself once again in Inuyasha's quarters…well…I guess they're now OUR quarters. Man, this is just too weird.

A growl from Inuyasha grabs my attention and I turn to stare at him. "What's with the animal sounds?" I cock an eyebrow at this practical stranger holding my hand…er…I mean, husband…

He ignores me and pokes a clawed finger into a keypad on the wall. "Computer, bring up all information on mating customs regarding physical contact or soul binding to my vid."

"Searching…Searching…Information retrieved…Now downloading to Virtual Information Device…Download complete."

The computerized voice is strange to my ears, but Inuyasha seems perfectly fine with it as he drags me over to his bed and sits down, pulling me in front of him so that my back is to his chest.

A cold feeling comes to me as Inuyasha lets go and moves around quickly behind me. The sensation stops when Inuyasha's hands go beneath my shirt to sit on my waist.

With his chest pressed against my back, I find my heart beating harder and faster, blood rushing to my cheeks with embarrassment. I turn slightly to get a look at him, only to begin attempting to become a tomato at the sight of his shirtless torso. He did not…

I jump as I feel my arms being lifted up and my shirt is quickly pulled over my head. When this happens, I jump to my feet. "Excuse me?" I cross my arms over my bra-clad torso and glare at Inuyasha, ignoring the cold pain trying to overwhelm me.

"Just sit back down, wench."

Yeah, his words just make me want to leap gleefully into his arms. Fat chance after that little stripping act he just pulled!

I don't have much time to think as black begins to seep into my vision and my muscles start giving out. What in the world is wrong with me? Keh, who am I kidding, I know what's wrong: I'm married to an insane alien at fifteen!

My body falls forward onto my despised enemy, the muscles in my limbs refusing to move for a few moments as my head slowly clears. Wait a minute…did I just think 'keh?'

That's not a good sign; Inuyasha's vocabulary is already starting to be ingrained into my head. Pretty soon I'll be sounding as stupid as him on a regular basis. Not good. Not good at all.

As I become more aware of my surroundings, I notice that my cheek is laying on Inuyasha's stomach, just above his belt. Ooh…embarrassing; almost worse than that "mating ritual" earlier.

Inuyasha shifts and my face heats up even more, despite the fact that I'm actually quite comfortable sitting on the floor with my head basically in this weirdo's lap. The guy must've been lying back on the bed, for his torso moves and my head is shoved back and more onto his lap and between his slightly parted legs. I think I'm now red down to the tips of my toes and I'll never be normal colored again.

He grabs my arms and lifts me up like I'm a feather-weight (which I know I'm not; he has got to be super strong). Without any effort on my part, I am soon situated between Inuyasha's legs, his bare chest flush with my back, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You have a serious problem, girl." My eyes narrow even as I feel Inuyasha's arm tighten around my waist to pull me closer to him. First he strips me, then he insults me. If that's the way he's playing, then he's not getting laid tonight.

I. Did. Not. Just. Think. That.

There is just no way. I'm turning into a pervert, somebody please shoot me now! I could NOT have been considering letting that freak have his way with me! No WAY! It's official then: I've lost all semblance of sanity.

As I'm off in my own thoughts, Inuyasha reads whatever is on this little computer screen next to the bed. He doesn't seem to be paying me much mind, so I glance at what he is reading, only skimming since I really don't care all that much.

Mates this, mates that, rare cases of mate reversal, mate dies, possessive mates. Why does Inuyasha find this so interesting? Talk about BORING!

My innards do a back-flip unintentionally when Inuyasha's thumb moves in a small circle over my exposed skin. When I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, he's not looking at me, still focused entirely on that stupid pixilated screen. For some reason I don't think he's really even aware of what he is doing to me.

A part of me really wants him to stop; this is way awkward and I'm done with awkward for today. The other part of me wants more: more of what though, I'm not sure. As embarrassing as this all is, a part of me just finds itself content, like this is what's supposed to happen.

Yeah, that's it. I'm destined to "mate" with a freak who thinks he's an alien prince brat and travel the outer reaches of space vanquishing all evil-doers and bad men.

Bah!

I think I'd rather go back to a high school where I'm estranged because I'm an oddball nerd and don't have many friends. That sounds like heaven right about now.

Unfortunately, I doubt I'm about to wake up from this nightmare now more commonly known as my messed-up life.

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Inutori: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Chapter 11 is already being written, so hopefully it won't be TOO long before I update again.
Kagome: Yeah, only another year or so.
Inutori: Oh shush up, Kagome. Quit being so negative.
Kagome: You try being positive when you're stuck in a "spaceship" with a bunch of lunatics that you don't even know!
Inutori: (stoic, completely serious face) As opposed to being stuck in a "spaceship" with a bunch of lunatics that you do know?
Kagome: You're impossible.
Inutori: Thank you. I try. Now, my faithful readers, please review and encourage me to write/post more chapters! (getting reviews and not working on a story really sends me on a guilt trip) Ja ne!