AN: So I mixed up my days and now I'm posting two days late but, whaddya gonna do? To makeup, I've included the unedited version of this chapter, SMUT ALERT! Wooo it's been a while but here's a hot little number for ya! I didn't include an additional smut piece to this cause I gotta keep my subscribers feeling special. The theme is firsts and (although not all) are sexual, I had to leave it in or it would have been a page long, lol! I hope you enjoy lovelies and if you want more of my hotness (on the page, not real life), check out my Tumblr! the link for more is pinned to the top of my page!

Chapter Six: Firsts
"That first kiss, it still has a way of making us nervous as teenagers, no matter how old we get."
Amy Jacobson, A Ride of a Lifetime

Kagome: Age Twenty-One (right where we left off)

"What are you… saying?"

"How long have you been dreaming of running in the woods?"

It was weird being on the other side of 'knowing', Inuyasha reading her like a book. "On and off since I was eighteen. How did you know?"

"It happens to all of us. The purer the blood, the younger it starts. I started when I was seven."

"Seven?!"

"Yep," he said with a gleam in his eyes, "I'm sorry, you've been alone for all of this, haven't you?" When she nodded, he sighed deeply and frowned, "Damn Gramps, keeping you from the truth. I suppose the shredded and missing clothes really freaked you out?"

"What are you talking about?"

Kagome had her head cocked in confusion, but the night was already weird. "Most people figure it's not a dream right away due to knowing about their blood and the shredded clothes from when they shift. So how did you not notice?!"

"Oh, cause I… until recently… usually sleep naked."

Inuyasha's eyes went wide, then he turned away, coughing over his shoulder. "Shit." He got himself back together when he turned around. "The moon is still up. You wanna shift again?"

She nodded, slowly getting to her feet with her arms firmly wrapped around her breasts. Inuyasha followed, not hiding anything.

"You're going to… have to get used to being naked around me."

Even slower, she lowered her arms, and Inuyasha kept his eyes on her face. It was respectful but also a massive knock on her self-worth. Something she must have frowned about cause Inuyasha chuckled huskily. "Did you want me to look?"

Before she could answer, his eyes dropped over her body. His smile faded away, and his mouth parted open slightly. She could hear the ragged breaths coming from his mouth as he dragged his eyes over her chest and then belly. He stopped at the tops of Kagome's thighs and went back up even slower, coming to a stop at her neck, of all places.

Kagome watched his apple bob as he gulped heavily. "Are you ready to shift?"

There was a hitch in his voice as he spoke, and Kagome's confidence shot through the roof, bending slightly at the knees to ready herself. "Okay, here's goes nothing."

Kagome didn't know how right she was because nothing happened. Inuyasha just laughed, crippling her confidence again. "It's not that simple. First, you have to concentrate." She closed her eyes, then felt hot breaths on her neck, forcing her to keep her eyes shut. "See your wolf, Kagome. It's big, black, and beautiful."

"It is?"

"Yeah. The most gorgeous wolf I've ever seen." His hands ran up her arms, tracing circles into her skin. "Now, the most important thing to shifting at will is not being afraid." She started to tell him she wasn't, but he cut her off. "Not afraid of the pain. Your entire body is changing into another form. As you noticed, that doesn't feel too good. But it will never kill you, so let go of the fear. Don't let the pain keep you from your wolf."

Inuyasha's voice washed over her like honey, taking away her lingering fear. The wolf he described, coupled with what she knew of herself, appeared in her mind. She could feel the start of her shift, the wolf on her mind walking over to her. Kagome held out her hand in her mind and let the wolf lick her palm. The pain wasn't nearly as intense this time, even as her bones cracked and shifted under her skin.

It wasn't long before she was on all fours, towering over Inuyasha. He walked up to her, brushing his hand along her flank as he inspected her. She shifted her weight, feeling the heat of the intimate moment they were sharing. Kagome wondered if he felt it too or if this was far from his first time? He never seemed too bothered being naked around her, but he had far more experience with it than she did. Her larger heart rammed against her ribs when his hand ran down her back leg. The wagging her tail did was out of her control and irritating.

Inuyasha walked around to face Kagome again, grabbing her muzzle in his hands and pulling her down to look at him in the eyes. "You're… amazing."

Her fur kept her from blushing, but Inuyasha didn't have that luxury. He still didn't drop her eyes, stepping back from her several inches. "Wanna go for a run, baby?"

She huffed at him, a combination of the term of endearment he kept using on her but also at the thought of trying to keep up with him.

"Don't worry; I'll go slow." He said with a smirk.

She glared as much as possible then took off before he could shift. "CHEATER!"

She chortled in her wolf form instead of laughing, pushing her new legs as hard as she could. It wasn't long before white flashed in her peripheral. The only way to beat Inuyasha was to outsmart him. So, she nipped at his front paws and twisted to the left, taking them off the set course. It threw him off enough for her to get a lead, leaving him behind for a few seconds while she ran like her life depended on it. Her lungs weren't used to the strain of running for this long. Nor were they used to supporting four legs. Kagome couldn't stop though, it was Inuyasha's ego on the line, and she wanted to win.

If they kept running, Kagome would never win. This was why she was surprised that instead of continuing the race, Inuyasha pounced her from behind, knocking her off her feet. They rolled together for a few moments until Inuyasha had her pinned under him. Kagome did her best glare, but then Inuyasha leaned down, licking her muzzle from cheek to snout.

He got off her slowly, but she rose to her feet and tackled him back. They spent the next hour or so roughhousing just like her wolves at the zoo did, playing together. Kagome would yip in laughter, and Inuyasha howled whenever she pinned him. It was just like when they were kids, Kagome having the best time of her life just being with Inuyasha. They could have been human, and she still would have put this in the top ten best moments of her life. Being wolves put it in the top five.

She could feel her strength start to drain, looking to the horizon to see the sun rising softly, its warm colors draining the night away. The moon was gone, and so was her wolf, wrapping her arms around herself, this time from the cold.

Inuyasha's wolf melted away before her eyes, but his was by choice. "Yash, you don't have to…."

Already human, he stepped up to Kagome quickly, thrusting his hand into her hair at the top of her spine. His mouth was hungry on hers, lapping similarly to a puppy. She grabbed onto him, getting his elbows in her hurry to hold onto him. His other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush to him. They were naked, something she had honestly forgotten, getting 'used to it' as Inuyasha prescribed. But now, his hot and hard cock pressed into her belly. It was hard to ignore, her pussy getting itchy the longer they pressed together like this.

Inuyasha was backing them up, and she didn't notice until she hit a tree. Its rough bark dug into her skin and caused her to cry out but not pull away. Her body tingled, but not as much as Kagome rang between her thighs, her clit begging to be touched.

It wasn't as if she knew; Kagome had zero experience. The only one to make her feel any desire was Inuyasha, and he was pumping her full of it quickly. The entire time they rolled around as wolves had been like foreplay, and he was only making it worse.

Pulling her by her hair, Inuyasha popped their mouths apart, traveling down her neck with kisses that felt cool on her skin. He stopped short of her breasts to look at her, righting them both to stare into her eyes. They panted at each other, not saying a word as they both lowered to the ground.

On their knees before one another, Inuyasha traveled along her jaw, going back down her body. He didn't stop when he reached her breasts this time, running the sharp points of his fangs along the tops. She shivered, and he moved lower, running his tongue over her nipple. It was popped and perked, sensitive to any touch, and he licked it. It made Kagome gasp and moan at the same time. He ran his tongue around her aura, and her legs gave out, falling back on her heels to sit. Inuyasha sat too, looking at her with honeyed eyes, glazed with red.

A shaky hand on his shoulder, and Kagome helped herself into his lap. Inuyasha helped her too, grabbing her ass to lift her off the moss. She sat down with her folds at his shaft. Inuyasha pulled her closer, pressing them together, so they rubbed genitals together.

Kagome was scared, more scared than she'd been of the pain of shifting. But she couldn't stop, bouncing up and down in Inuyasha's lap to rub up and down his rod. It rubbed her back, making her quiver with want while she shook with fear. It was more than the fear of sleeping with Inuyasha; it was the fear of sleeping with anyone for the first time. Her first time. But Inuyasha was the one she'd waited for, the one she'd wanted more than anyone else. The only one Kagome had wanted like this.

His silver strands danced in the breeze, and the sun that gently warmed her back made his eyes glow. Grabbing her hips, he stopped her movement and leaned into her. His mouth pressed sweetly to hers, promising her gentleness and love. Kagome let go of her fear, and Inuyasha lifted her, placing her entrance over his tip. Together, they took away the gap, swallowing too much air as they became one.

It felt good. Really good. Like Kagome had finally found what her body had been missing all this time. Her walls stretched around Inuyasha's girth in a slightly painful manner but mostly pleasurable, her hips shifting slowly soon after enveloping him tip to shaft. Grinding, she rubbed her clit into his pelvis and his tip into her womb. Inuyasha's mouth was open, repeatedly gasping as if he couldn't breathe. Cupping his cheeks, she closed his mouth with hers, sweeping the inside with her tongue. He pushed her tongue out with his to nibble on her lower lip.

Inuyasha's hands left her hips, going up her back, so they were pressed together thoroughly. They touched every inch possible while they made love. But suddenly, he grabbed her hips again and stopped them, holding her down and keeping her from moving. Then he pulled her off, pushing her back and on the ground. He continued to push her with his body until they were lying down. Inuyasha covered her, his body hotter than usual as he twisted over her to kiss her.

His mouth went down, going over her skin as he had before but more thoroughly, with more confidence. Kagome fisted his hair, rubbing his ears occasionally as they flicked around. Inuyasha sucked on her breast, pulling her nipple into his mouth. The pert pebble bounced against his tongue, and Kagome arched off the dirt to give him more. He switched, going to her neglected tit and sucking even harder on it.

"AH!"

It was the first sound they had allowed to release other than soft moans. It caught them both off guard, suddenly looking around for someone else watching. But they were in the middle of nowhere. Their senses were occupied, too busy smelling, hearing, and tasting each other to be aware of someone else nearby. When there was nothing but their hurried breaths, Inuyasha sucked her breast back into his mouth. Kagome wiggled her hips, wanting him to return, to put his dick back in. He sensed it, reading her as he slipped a hand down her belly and into her fluffy mound. His claw brushed her lower lips and made her jump. But he didn't stop, digging deeper and searching until he rolled the pad of his finger around her sensitive bud.

Instead of wiggling, her hips bounced, popping off the ground and against his touch. When he moved off her clit, she informed him by stopping her movements and sounds. Tentatively, he slipped a finger lower, touching her pink ring gently. Kagome sucked in a short breath, and it encouraged Inuyasha, sliding his finger in deeper until he to his knuckles. At first, he pumped in and out with it, but then, he began wiggling it back and forth. That nearly sent her over the edge, grabbing his shoulders tightly and gasping with her moans. With life and need of their own, Kagome's hips twisted, trying to both get away and hump Inuyasha's fingers. She pushed on him -trying to escape- so she didn't come from his touch instead of his cock. The sounds her pussy made only added to her heat, flushing greatly at the slick and sopping sounds coming from Inuyasha's fingers pressing into her spot deep inside her.

Inuyasha had long ago stopped licking her chest, watching her squirm under him instead. Kagome would be mad if she could think of anything other than the things being done to her body. She got her hand around his wrist of the hand that fingered her, gripping it tight but neither pushing or pulling on it. Instead, she held it like an anchor to keep from completely floating away.

"You want me to stop?"

Kagome nodded hard, "yes!"

"But you like it?"

"Yes!"

"You don't… want to come like this?" Kagome shook her head and whimpered as he pulled his fingers free of her pussy, the sound of her insides slick with want the only noise making it over their heavy pants. "Tell me what you want, Kagome?"

"I want…" Inuyasha was looking her dead in the eyes. He hadn't stopped since he rolled them over and left her breasts. The colors of his irises swirled in a brilliant show that made it impossible to blink or deny his requests. "I want you to finish what you started… I want you to make love to me… I want your cock inside me."

He only moved his hips, keeping the warm hand that had been inside her on her hip to steady her as he slid back inside. Kagome's mouth popped open, and she tried her damnedest to keep her eyes open and locked on his. They were hooded, but that was the most she could manage, Inuyasha slowly thrusting in and out of her. Soon, he had both hands pressed into he dirt next to her head, slapping their bodies together. Kagome had her legs lifted and out of the way, Inuyasha's pelvis spanking her as a result while he pummelled her with his dick.

Kagome thought she was hot before, but she'd been wrong. Unimaginable warmth flooded her now, and only a small portion of that was from Inuyasha watching her as she bounced.

She grabbed his wrists again, holding on for what it was worth as emotions and feelings rolled inside her. Love, passion, desire, and need tumbled in her belly, fueled by the twisting their hips did together. "Oh, god…"

There was no stopping or denying it; Kagome was going to come. The last thing that registered in her mind before it went blank was the sun reflecting off Inuyasha's brow. It was coated in sweat; she had made him sweat.

Her eyes closed without contest, pleasure funneling into her veins stemming from her walls as they quivered. It made her muscles tense so hard that it was the release that was felt all through her body, the tension relaxing away. Never had her vagina felt more alive than with Inuyasha inside it, rippling around his shaft and sucking on it to make it stay. It never wanted him to leave, but he did, groaning and hissing as he pulled out. Inuyasha shook above her as he came on the moss, lowering his head and dropping her eyes. She watched how his ears flicked, mostly pressed back and twitching as he puffed hot breaths on her chest and belly.

"You came?"

Kagome was nodding as hard as her tired muscles would allow. Inuyasha felt it, keeping his eyes down before lowering himself to her side. She laid alone for a few heartbeats before he pulled her onto her side to look at him again. They busied themselves with gentle touches to one another, still exploring their bodies. Inuyasha traced the outside of her boob and fingered her ribs, making her twitch from the tickle. Kagome measured his muscles, starting with his pecks and moving down to his abs.

"You remember when we were kids, and I told you I wanted you to know me?"

Her fingers danced along his happy trail, considering touching his manhood to see what it felt like in her palm. "Yes. It was our last day together. I remember it most vividly."

A sad smile stretched on his mouth and tears threatened her eyes. Inuyasha stopped them by cupping her cheek with the hand he'd used to explore. "Now you know me… better than anyone. Do I know you… better than anyone still?"

It was clear what he was asking her (using the very words she once told him to ask), but she thought it was clear already that Inuyasha was her first and only. The gleam in his eyes told her he knew her answer already; he just wanted to hear Kagome say it. "Yes. No one knows me like you do, Puppy."

He grinned, his hand leaving her face and brushing her nipple. It instantly hardened, and he continued to play with it. So Kagome continued her trek down until her fingers wrapped around his softened shaft. It got harder the longer she touched and examined it. Harder and larger.

Their noses brushed, and they breathed heavily into one another's faces. "I love it when you call me that."

"What? Puppy?"

"Yeah. Fucking turns me on, and I don't know why."

"Guess I shouldn't," her breath hitched as Inuyasha pinched her pert pebble, "call you that in public?"

"No, you definitely shouldn't."

Before he could, Kagome rolled him onto his back and climbed on top of him. "I wanna play on top."

Inuyasha gripped the top of her thighs, and she stroked him back to full mast, lifting and lowering herself onto him, so she was filled up again. Kagome experimented, trying bouncing and grinding, seeing which one Inuyasha liked better and what made her feel the best. She leaned back and forwards, side to side, and even touched herself. In the middle of putting on a show for him, rolling her hips in a circle and cupping her breasts to roll in her palms, Inuyasha sat up.

He had her tit in his mouth without a word, shoving nearly all of it in. Now, she didn't need to touch herself. Inuyasha played with her nipples while she ground them together, her clit pressed into his pelvis. Curious, Kagome carefully grabbed his ears as they twitched on top of his head before her eyes. Pressing her fingers into the back, she rubbed her thumbs along the sides, massaging them. Inuyasha cursed and murmured against her skin, pressing his fangs into her skin harder. He broke the skin, but neither of them did a thing about it; Inuyasha didn't touch the bloodied spots again. He moved on to a clean section and sucked. Kagome didn't stop any of her movements.

None of it mattered anyway, pleasure coursing through her again as she wet their laps. As hard as she came, it was like she hadn't orgasmed ten minutes ago. It didn't matter how many times Inuyasha made her come; each time would be like the first and overwhelming.

She wasn't quite finished when Inuyasha pulled her up and off to come on their bellies. The heat in her veins fizzled, the flames dying out quickly without an ignition source. It twitched between them, poking her belly a few times before calming down.

No part of her cared; Kagome wasn't on birth control, and they weren't using protection. Inuyasha could probably smell that or something. Or was being cautious. Either way, she was glad he didn't come inside her. With the way he cradled her to him -even finished and having her twice now- Kagome was pretty sure she needed to go on birth control soon.

They dozed in the early summer sun until it was late afternoon. Both had been out all night. Kagome didn't want to think about what kind of trouble Inuyasha was getting himself into. It was why she didn't fuss in the slightest when he dressed her in the clothes he'd stashed, shifted, took her home, and left her with a peck to her lips.

Kagome knew she should sleep, but the most she could manage was a shower, washing the fluids of her first time off her. Only to put Inuyasha's clothes back on and bumble around her tiny apartment.

Would the others know? She could smell their sex on her skin before she showered. The pack would have no problem smelling it on Inuyasha. Would this be what kept Inuyasha from her forever? The pack didn't seem to like her too much; Toga made it clear Inuyasha was supposed to stay away from her when they were kids. Her Gramps gave her the impression it was their family against it, not Inuyasha's. But then Inuyasha told her how he had to 'report it' like they didn't trust her or him.

Guess they shouldn't since the two picked up where they left off and rutted in the woods for hours like the animals they were.

What would it say that a Beta slept with a low-blooded wolf like her? Did the amount of wolf blood matter? Inuyasha wasn't pure, just a high percentage. His mother wasn't a pure wolf, and she married the Alpha who was. Inuyasha also mentioned they were hurting for females too. Maybe Kagome should join the pack? Was it her outsider-ness that worried them? That they didn't know her save for the family that cursed them?

A long phone call with Souta (going on and on again about coming home while she had to tell him 'no'), a meal Kagome forced herself to eat since she'd had nothing all day, and she fell asleep on her small couch. It was why she rose groggily from it at the sound of consistent knocking. Going for her door, she was confused when the knocking got louder behind her, spinning to the window. Her heart leaped into her throat at the sight of Inuyasha, crouched on the fire escape and watching her.

She rushed to him, quickly slinging it open and he sped inside. He was naked, shifting to get here, and the first thing Kagome noticed was that he no longer smelled like sex. She prayed, whatever he did to get rid of the smell, he did it before checking in. "Are you okay?"

He was rubbing his thumbs along her cheeks, digging his fingers into her hair while she nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"Fucking finer than rain, baby."

Relief washed over her so hard; she had to grab his wrists to keep from falling to the floor. But she still needed more. "No, didn't get in trouble?"

"I got bullshit about being more responsible."

"We weren't very… responsible…."

"Hey," he pulled her face up in his hold, so she was looking him in the eyes, "you don't regret it, do you?"

"No." She said without hesitation, and the fast pace of Inuyasha's worried heart slowed. "But I would have if I didn't get to see you again."

"They haven't kept me from you yet. And they never will."

"If they ever tried to keep us apart… I don't know what I would do…."

"Shhh," he hushed her calmly, "let's not talk about things that don't matter. Okay?"

Kagome could argue that it did matter, but she didn't have the strength. Not against Inuyasha's grin and shining orbs. "You're naked?"

He glanced down at himself, confused by her question, but he usually showed up in clothes he brought with him. He dropped her face to finger the hem of the shirt she wore. "I got clothes right here."

Kagome stepped back and planned to head to her dresser for her clothes, "oh, I'll give them back to you…."

Inuyasha grabbed the hem again, holding her still, and chuckled. "Kagome…"

Saying nothing more, he pulled her back and the shirt up, taking it off her and tossing it behind him. Staring at his chest, Inuyasha pulled Kagome's face up again, this time to kiss her, holding her still with his mouth to shove his pants off her hips with her panties. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist, lifting her taking them both to her bed.

oOo

Kagome: Age Sixteen

It had been nearly a month since Inuyasha had last visited her. Kagome was starting to believe she would never see him again. Their relationship was strained at best; one minute, they were having the time of their lives and the next, he was missing for weeks at a time. At least, she was having the time of her life. Inuyasha was a wolf; hanging out with her hardly qualified as the most exciting thing in his life.

The whole thing left her feeling lesser, as she was not a priority in his life like he was for her. It may not be fair (because what did she know about the life he led inside the pack?), but it still left her feeling miffed.

Anger that she kept in check until she saw him.

Inuyasha leaned against the gate around her school like it was any other day. Kagome had finished her first year of high school, a day that she had thought she would share with Inuyasha, but he was nowhere around. And when she discussed his actions with her friends (Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka), they all had something to say about his actions. Ayumi was always kind and gentle about things, including other's business. But Eri and Yuka gave her the rundown of proper treatment for a guy like Inuyasha -which was why she walked past him without saying a word or looking at him.

"Kagome?" She ignored him, leaving him behind while he was confused. His footsteps raced up behind her, and soon, his hot breath was felt on her neck. "Come on, Kagome. Don't ignore me." Kagome continued to do just that, picking up her pace towards home. He wouldn't follow her past the shrine steps anyway; she just had to make it that far. "I know I haven't… been around, but you know I can't always come to see you even if I really want to!"

"If you really wanted to see me, then you would find the means!" She screamed in her head at him. God, she was so tired of this secret friendship; why did it take her so long to realize how it didn't work for her?

"Kagome… please…"

He was begging. Kagome wondered if he did that because he was genuinely desperate or did it because he knew it was her weakness. Either way, it had her stopping, turning to face him, and glowering back at him. "So what was it this time? Your dad? Your mom? Your uncle? Please, inform me which member of your family kept you from coming to see me when none of them know you know me at all?!"

"It was… none of them really…." Kagome turned and continued her race home. Inuyasha jumped in front of her to stop her this time. "It was something my dad said, okay? Remember… remember when you cut your palm, and I licked the blood?"

"That was almost a year ago, Inuyasha."

"I know, I know. But… my dad sat me down for… the talk…."

"The talk? The talk about what?!"

Gramps sat her down for 'talks' all the time. None of them had her flushing heavily like Inuyasha was right now. "It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that… that thing we did, where I drank your blood, it's a big deal for wolves."

Kagome laughed, loud and hollowly. "So, we took some big step, unconsciously, and you freaked out? Stayed away for a month?"

"I didn't freak out! Not like that! I didn't think it was fair to you…."

"You wanna know what's not fair, Inuyasha?" His face paled, but he didn't move an inch. "What's not fair is how my best friend keeps me as his deep dark secret! How I'm expected to let him walk in and out of my life without any expectations of my own. You missed important things in my life, Inuyasha! They may mean nothing to you, but they meant a lot to me, and I wanted my best friend there!"

With his face now pointed to the ground, she walked around him with ease. She was nearly at the shrine steps when he stopped her again, grabbing her arm as it swung back in her angry hast. "You're right, it's not fair, and I'm sorry! But, please, don't walk away from me!"

Kagome stopped, some of her anger deflating away as the reality she'd forced herself to face the past two weeks was now at hand. "We were never supposed to be friends in the first place…."

"But we're meant to be together."

He was rubbing circles into her wrist, sliding his hand down from her elbow. Then he slipped his hand into hers, threading his fingers with hers. They had never held hands before, and, at first, Kagome's heart raced with the love she felt for him. But Kagome made sure to stop it dead in its tracks. "If that were true, then you wouldn't tuck your tail and run every time our relationship changed. Accidentally or not."

"I was supposed to drink your blood Kagome. Yours and no one else's. I needed time to understand that, and I'm sorry, but I'm ready now."

"You needed time?!"

He held up his free hand defensively. "Not for myself, but what it meant for you. For us."

She tugged on her hand, and it pulled it free without struggle. How easily he gave her up, it only made her stomach twist. "How could it mean anything to me? I'm not a wolf. Your family will never accept me."

"Kagome…"

"How could they? You don't even accept me! You run every chance you get…."

"It's not like that! Do you have any idea how many rules I'm breaking to be with you?!"

"Then maybe it's not worth it? That's what your freakouts are telling you, that I'm not worth it."

He grabbed her, pulling Kagome in closer to him and further from the shrine steps he couldn't pass. Or rather wouldn't; it wasn't as if he would burst into flames by taking another step. "Me being here and seeing you as I have proves that you are worth it! You're worth every moment, Kagome. Every secret, every risk, every fucking moment we've spent together!"

Inuyasha didn't get it. She was trying to end this… whatever it was. She had thought they were just friends, but as she got older, it was far more than that to her. If she didn't split away from him soon, he would break her beyond repair. Or she would spend her whole life in (unrequited) love with him, missing out on having a successful love life. Eri pointed this out to her and Yuka supported it. It was true, Kagome was in love with Inuyasha, and if she didn't get away from him soon, she always would be.

But Inuyasha's hold on her was iron-clad; there was only one way she knew to get him to let her go, but it would be a sacrifice for herself. Taking a deep breath, she stepped even closer, watching as Inuyasha's eyes went wide. The hand he didn't hold wrapped around the back of his neck, and -with the element of surprise- Kagome pulled Inuyasha down to her mouth. Pressing their lips together didn't really count as her first kiss, right? With Inuyasha frozen against her, it wasn't anything more than a firm peck. Even if Kagome's eyes drifted close from the sensation, tingles running down her back from the slight pressure on her lips.

It was funny (even though she didn't laugh or feel the humor of it) pulling back and Inuyasha still had his lips pursed from their 'kiss'. Finally, his shocked stupor allowed her to slip her elbow out of his fingers and step onto the shrine steps. "Goodbye, Inuyasha."

She was able to get five steps before the tears started. This was what she wanted, what she needed to do. And yet, even repeating that over in her head, Kagome still felt the terrible ache of loss in her chest the higher she climbed. Which didn't make sense; how can you lose something that was never yours?

The tingle of Inuyasha's touch was felt before Kagome understood, getting spun by hands on her hips to face blood-red eyes. He took one look at her tear-streaked face and smirked, wrapping an arm around her waist to tug her to him and a hand on her face to hold her still. "Fuck goodbyes."

It was all he said, wrenching her the rest of the way to his waiting lips and pressing his even harder to hers than she had moments ago. The kiss was long and greedy, Inuyasha taking all he could of her. She managed to refuse his tongue in her mouth, but that didn't stop him from licking her lips and sucking. It all felt good but sloppy, like the teens learning to kiss that they were. To them, it was perfect. It wouldn't be till years later that they realized how messy and crazed they were being. The exact amount of time it took for Kagome to realize, stepping on the shrine steps was what clued her Gramps in on the two of them. But all that was before she knew her Gramps was a wolf.

oOo

Kagome: Age Twenty-Five

Koga was putting her through her paces again. No one mentioned the events before training began last week. She had to assume it had something to do with the other pups getting placed with Inuyasha while she was with Koga. Inuyasha seemed happy with it, so the fight must not have been about her.

They hadn't done much as far as training. All Koga had done was see what she was capable of. And take her blood, another wolf in a lab coat came and took a sample of everyone's (except Miroku's) blood. The strange wolf, Miroku, was in and out. He wasn't around every day to train, and when he was, it was more like he was a confidant for Inuyasha. But he still got to do more than Kagome, sparring with the other wolves. At night, they all got to shift and train as wolves while she barely got to watch.

Koga rushed her and (even distracted) Kagome got her fist up in time to knock him back. He wiped his mouth and growled at her. "Pay attention!"

"Hey, Koga, why don't I get to train as a wolf?"

He chuckled, but it was uneasy. "Can you shift during the day?"

"I don't know! No one will let me try!"

Even Inuyasha hadn't let her shift in daylight, but they were in populated areas then. Now they were only surrounded by other wolves. So there was no reason why she couldn't try. "Look, Kags, I'll be honest." She bristled, always hating that nickname. "Your gender is a hindrance."

"Excuse me?!"

She wondered if her eyes turned red like Inuyasha's did with the way Koga coward. "As a human, you can spare with anyone you want! But… wolf tradition is… you only spar with your mate in wolf form."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. You're rolling around, essentially naked, with a wolf of the opposite sex? Things are bound to… come up."

It hadn't occurred to her. But, because she and Inuyasha had played in their wolf form. When she thought about it now, it was far from sparring, and it always ended in rather wild and glorious romps. The time they spent as wolves were like foreplay and sometimes, they couldn't wait to shift back before they fucked.

"Am I supposed to believe that only those of the same sex can spar as wolves together? What if a wolf is gay?"

Koga blinked at her a few times as he came up with an answer. "That's only happened a few times, and the situation was conditional, not absolute."

"What the hell does that mean?!"

"Never mind. The point is, if you want to spar or train your wolf, you gotta get a chick to help you with it."

Koga was going to move on from the subject, but Kagome wasn't ready yet. "Wait, so only mated couples spar together?"

He shrugged, "or those about to mate. It's something you only do with one person. Like kissing and sex, we consider it sacred."

She didn't know how to feel, but mostly Kagome felt pissed and broken all over again. All the things she was supposed to wait and do with her mate, Inuyasha took without telling her how important it all was. If she did mate, they would be her second in everything.

But what she found worse than all that Kagome would have to know and possibly watch Inuyasha do all those things with his true mate. And knowing what it was like to experience it with Inuyasha only made it hurt more.

"I need someone to spar with. Someone to teach me so I can control my wolf fully."

Koga wasn't going to help her, not even in finding a female to spar with. So what was he doing with her anyway? Waisting her time and keeping her weak! His indignation on the subject was more than a clue that Koga didn't care if she succeeded in getting strong enough to join the pack on her own.

"I'll train your wolf."

The wide-eyed look on Koga's face still didn't prepare her when Kagome turned to the voice. Standing face to face with none other than Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi.