AN: Happy 2021! My apologies for taking so long on this chapter. I've been feeling like shit lately (don't worry I didn't get COVID) but I have definitely not been motivated to write. I also read a couple very shitty romance novels and I realized they will publish anything these days. Why do so many book have horrible rapey undertones?! Anyway, I do absolutely plan to finish this story sometime in 2021 (hopefully before summer) but who knows when that will be. Reviews always help! And you can follow me on tumblr for more updates. Username s3nie.
Chapter Fourteen
My demon accepted you that first night.
The first night? How is that even possible?
Well accepted isn't the word I should use. More like demanded.
Fucking hell. Why am I even surprised by demonology anymore? I know enough about them that this is just another thing to file under: Yeah So Apparently This Happens.
Demands that I mark you every time we're together.
Well maybe I should be impressed by his restraint. He probably wasn't expecting it the first night and that's why- fucking bitch, what if he just loses control one day? No. No, he wouldn't do that without my consent. Right?
There are signs to help us realize who our true mate is
The words rang in Kagome's mind like the bells of Notre Dame. Holy fuck. Hoooly fuck. I feel like I can't breathe. True- fucking fuck. Breathe. In, out, in, out.
To say she was freaking out was an understatement. Kagome had been replaying Inuyasha's words over and over again in her head since he had said them the night before. This was endgame for him. She was endgame. Sure, she liked him. Like really liked him. And she was open to the idea of love. She hadn't lied when she said that to him. But the weight of forever now sat heavy on her chest.
He's the only one I've ever been with. And, let's be honest, the first time's consent was dubious at best. What if my body is just releasing some attachment hormone everytime we have sex? Oxy...oxy-something. Oxytocin! Yeah. Oh my god. What if I just like having sex? Oh my god. Oh my- ok ok. Picture someone else. Think about being with someone else, easy. Ok…
Her thoughts trailed off and her mind began flashing pictures of other men she knew. Finally she settled on an image of Bankotsu. Apparently he found her attractive. And he wasn't bad looking. She had seen him shirtless countless times so conjuring that image was easy. Then she pictured his arms wrapping around her, laying her down, his mouth dipping to hers- The image was pushed out of her mind by a visceral reaction shooting through her and clustering in her gut. The pain was gone within two breaths. Ok that was weird. I'll just try someone else. This time she pictures Suikotsu instead. Her walking into the medical wing, him above her on one of the beds, his fingers- The sting in her abdomen was back with a vengeance. Make up you're fucking mind then! She screamed at herself. She couldn't be both terrified of a future with Inuyasha and physically pained by the idea of being with anyone else. That couldn't be fair. And now the guilt of picturing herself with someone other than Inuyasha filled the space in her stomach where the pain had been.
Think rationally. He didn't say love. He never used that word. He just said that his demon accepted me. Those are instincts he can't control. Centuries of youkai heritage lining up is some kismet no one can predict. He doesn't love me.
She was horrified of hurting him. What if he did eventually fall in love with her? (If he wasn't already). What if she couldn't get there? Couldn't return his feelings? How would it feel if his true mate rejected him?
"Kagome!" The urgency in Inuyasha's voice snapped Kagome back to reality and to the task at hand. Her guns were held loosely in her hands, barely even raised in a ready position. It hadn't even been 24 hours after their conversation when Inuyasha got the intel about Naraku he was waiting on. And that brought Kagome, Sango, Kouga and Inuyasha to a logging company near the eastern woods. The place was a front for Naraku's drug running and their information said a large shipment was going out in the morning. They needed to destroy it before that happened.
"Get your head out of your ass!" Inuyasha did not sound happy. Which was understandable. Kagome had completely zoned out in the middle of a mission and had no idea what was happening. Son of a bitch. She quickly tightened her hold on her weapons and used her reiki to pinpoint their target: Byakuya.
Before she could take proper aim at him. Kouga ran into her line of sight. "What the hell, get out of the way." Kagome said in annoyance and tried to sidestep the wolf youkai. Kouga only moved with her, blocking her clean shot at Byakuya. Kagome was about to curse at him when she saw his claws raise and come down across her chest. Because of how her arms were positioned, he only managed to graze her collarbone but it was enough to split open the skin. With a pained cry, Kagome dropped the gun in her left hand and stumbled back. She turned to Kouga accusingly and noticed the ripple of youki around him and the unfamiliar feeling of it. I'm so fucking stupid. Kagome raised her other firearm and shot off half her clip at Byakuya's illusion. The illusion disappeared at her purified bullets but Kagome didn't notice. The pain from her wound was screaming at her. She dropped to her knees and scrambled to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. She knew it wasn't deep, she would be fine after a couple dozen stitches, but fuck it hurt.
"Kagome? Kagome?!" This time it was Sango yelling her name. The last thing Kagome saw was a large origami swan. What the fuck? And then everything went dark.
Sango had seen Byakuya's illusion. They all had. Expect Kagome. Something was off with her tonight and she was vulnerable. And Byakuya had seen that. Using Kouga's image was smart. Kagome had no clue. And then she was dropping to her knees, blood dripping down her chest. From her distance, Sango couldn't see where Kagome's injury was. She just hopped it wasn't her heart. Youkai blood could do a lot, but it couldn't fix a punctured heart.
Sango ran towards her friend, yelling her name; Inuyasha and Kouga could take care of Byakuya. Sango watched as Kagome slowly lost consciousness and her torso fell into the sawdust covered dirt beneath her. When Sango got to her friend, she quickly rolled her over, the last thing she needed was a wound full of dirt. Taking gauze from a pouch on her belt, Sango patted at the blood, looking for the depth of the injury. It wasn't good, but Kagome would survive. But they needed to get her back to the compound. Fast.
"Inuyasha, we need to take care of this and get her back to medical!" Sango yelled across the yard, trying to convey the urgency of the situation. By the sound of her grumbles, Sango knew Kagome was floating on the cusp consciousness. But the pulses of demonic energy rippling through the lumber yard was far more concerning than her injured friend. Sango's eyes darted around the three demons trying to see where the energy was coming from. Byakuya was hovering above the piles of timber in his swan but, strangely, Kouga had lowered his guard and was yelling at Inuyasha. Sango's eyes followed Kouga's to the hanyou. But, standing there, was an Inuyasha she did not recognize.
Glowing red eyes, jagged purple stripes on his cheek bones and a wicked smile bearing his elongated canines. The growl that emitted from his chest reverberated off each surface.
Sango watched in nervous fascination as Inuyasha leaped for Byakuya, slicing through his origami easily with his sharpened claws. The illusionist was not expecting such a savage attack from an even more powerful Inuyasha and was barely quick enough to draw the sword from the sheath on his back. But on his first swing, Inuyasha easily caught the blade between his hands, twisting it out of Byakuya's grip and turning it on him. The motion was so quick, Sango's human eyes barely tracked them. The next thing she heard was the squelch of Byakuya's own weapon piercing through his chest, dropping him to his knees. Whatever magic encased the sword destroyed any of Byakuya's youki and Sango watched as he slowly turned to dust.
A charged silence filled the air in the lumber yard. And then Kagome moaned, turning every eye to her, including the blood red pair. Sango's head whipped back down to Kagome, whose face was contorted clearly in pain and then back to Inuyasha. Said demon sneered and flexed his bloodied claws at his side before he shot off in a sprint towards the two women. Sango panicked. She had discarded her hiraikotsu when she had approached Kagome and now it was out of her reach. She wanted to cry out for Kouga but terror had frozen her vocal cords. Sango's body was useless to her as she watched, as if in slow motion, Inuyasha dart across the small distance and slide to a stop a foot from her and Kagome. Fearing the worst, Sango instinctively drew Kagome closer to herself, as if she could shield her from the feral inuyoukai. Another pained groan escaped through Kagome's lips at the movement and Inuyasha snarled in fury.
Fuck her chest hurt. It felt like her collar bone had taken the wrong end of a cheese grater. But something else was pushing harder than the pain signals wracking through Kagome's brain. An abundance of youki was flooding around her and igniting her fight or flight systems back into consciousness. It was strong. Stronger than anything she had felt in a long time. But it didn't feel dangerous, necessarily. If anything, it was almost familiar to her. She felt an involuntary groan scratch past her dry throat as she tried to open her eyes. The few flood lights around the property had her recoiling before she was able to make out the shapes around her. A gutteral snarl drew her still-clearing vision to the figure looming over her. More of her senses returned as her surroundings sharpened. She was on the ground, but propped up. She felt damp but she couldn't tell if it was blood or cooling sweat. And Inuyasha was glaring down at her with bright red scleras and cyan irises.
Lavender seemed like too sweet of a word to describe the color of the markings on his cheek bones but Kagome couldn't get it out of her head. She always loved the smell of lavender and once, when she was a teenager, she had gone to an outdoor market where one of the stands was selling lavender lemonade. It had been delicious and suddenly Kagome was very thirsty for it again. Maybe she could find a recipe online for it. Maybe Inuyasha would know of a lavender farm in the countryside. She should ask him.
"Inu-" fuck her throat was dry. Right, that's why she was asking about the lavender. "Inu...yash-"
Even at Kagome's labored words, Sango refused to take her eyes off of Inuyasha towering over them. Not even ten seconds had passed but they were dragging on for Sango as she anticipated Inuyasha tearing them apart like he had done to Byakuya's swan. But, the moment he registered Kagome's attempt at his name, Inuyasha's scleras bled back to white and amber slowly returned to surround his pupils. Sango's eyes darted across Inuyasha's face as she watched him transform. His canines receded along with his claws. The only thing that remained from his youki was the purple marks on his cheeks. Without a word, Inuyasha bent down, gingerly scooped Kagome into his arms and spoke, "Kouga drives."
The ride back to the compound was painfully tense. Sango sat in the front while Kouga drove. She didn't dare turn around to see what was going on behind her but Kouga's quick glances in the rearview mirror gave her solace that he was keeping an eye on the pair. She assumed Kagome was drifting in and out of consciousness as her mumbles were few and far between. And, everytime, Inuyasha would speak to her in a voice so low Sango could not comprehend his words. She was sure Kouga's wolf ears could but that was a conversation for another day.
Kouga hadn't even pulled the SUV to a full stop before Inuyasha had bolted from the car with Kagome still secured in his arms. Sango knew he was headed to Suikotsu in Medical. And she would just have to wait to hear a report on her friend's health.
Lunch had finished hours ago and there was still no sight of Kagome. Sango found herself pacing her room with Rin and Ayame both trying to talk her down.
"If you're so worried, just go down to Medical and see her." Rin spoke from her position on her bed.
"I told you, Kouga spoke to Inuyasha and she's fine. Why are you being so weird about this?" Ayame questioned now.
Sango hadn't told the girls about Inuyasha's transformation. It was a possibility that Ayame knew from Kouga, but it wasn't Sango's place to disclose that information. And because she hadn't told them of Inuyasha's youki, she hadn't told them about Kagome appeasing his demon blood and calming him back into his hanyou state. The only people she could talk to about this were Inuyasha (hah, yeah right) and Kagome. She wanted to give Kagome time to heal before she brought up the subject. Sango also didn't want to run into Inuyasha before she got the truth from her friend. Sango was so preoccupied with chewing the skin off of her thumb pad that she didn't notice the suite door open until Ayame jumped down from her bunk, "Kagome! How are you feeling?" Sango whipped her head towards the door.
Kagome was dressed in a white t-shirt and gray sweats, both looking too big for her. She shrugged her uninjured shoulder, "Just a little sluggish, but all healthy according to the doc. I should be back at training in two days."
"Well we're glad you're ok. This one hasn't stopped pacing since morning workouts." Rin threw a thumb in Sango's direction. Kagome looked over at her friend and smiled kindly at her.
"Aw Sango, were you worried about little ol' me?" Kagome teased lightly.
"Kagome, can we talk?"
Kagome quirked a brow, "Are you breaking up with me?" Rin snickered but Sango's face only remained stoic. Kagome's humor faded, "What's going on? Are you ok?"
"Yeah! Yeah! Of course. I'm fine!" Sango's voice was far too loud.
"Then why are you yelling?" Ayame asked, suspiciously.
"What is going on?" Kagome looked to the other girls in the room, both just shrugged, just as lost as her.
"Fine!" Sango turned her full attention to Kagome, "What the hell happened last night?" She lowered her voice as if that would help their privacy.
"What do you mean?" Kagome tilted her head.
"Don't play dumb. Inuyasha fell off his rocker when you went down."
Kagome froze, easily understanding Sango's implication, "Ok? He just cares about his members."
"Is something going on? Between you guys?"
Before Kagome could think of a believable response, Rin laughed, "Sango I'm surprised it's taken you this long to notice."
Sango pinned the girl with a look, "What?"
Rin waved her hand dismissively, "Please. You don't notice how Yash gets in the gym whenever Bankotsu is within five feet of her? He's got it bad. Congrats Kags, dog demons are very attentive." Rin winked at her and Kagome couldn't help the blush that burst across her face. When Ayame looked away, trying to hide her snicker, Sango turned on her too, "You knew too?" Sango shouted.
Ayame took a deep breath, "Her scent hasn't been in her bed for weeks. I knew she wasn't sleeping here and no one in the house smelled like her. Then I noticed the bracelets." Kagome put her arm behind her back, trying to hide the evidence that Ayame had clearly already seen.
"And you guys didn't tell me? How am I the only one who didn't know?! Is this a good idea Kagome?" Sango eyes darted between all three of her roommates to finally land on Kagome.
Kagome, not one to be put on the spot, fired back, "You're the one who set it up in the very beginning! Besides, you initiated Miroku!"
Quickly forgetting her interrogation, Sango gasped, "How do you know that?!"
Kagome smirked victoriously, "You just told me." This time Rin and Ayame didn't hold back their laughter.
"Sango if you think me and every other youkai in this place didn't know about you and the monk then you're not as smart as I thought you were."
It was Sango's turn to blush now, "Fuck you guys." She mumbled, arms crossing her chest.
Rin, still giggling, said, "If it makes you feel better, Sesshornaru initiated me."
"And Kouga initiated me." Ayame added.
Sango scrubbed her hand over her still red face, "What the fuck? Have we all just fallen in love with our initiators?"
"Love? Wow Sango you really just told on yourself like that?" Ayame teased which caused Sango to spiral, "Shut up! That's not- that's not what I meant!"
Feeling bad for her friend, Rin tried to avert the conversation, "Maybe that was the founding members' plan all along? Because they were all couples too, right?" She suggested.
One thing Kagome always remembered about her parents was how much they loved each other. They took love very seriously. And they instilled that in her at a young age. Even though she could not agree or condon the initiation process, maybe… "Maybe this was their way of connecting couples over a common cause. To strengthen the bond for the resistance."
"Doesn't that seem problematic?" Sango deadpanned. The short answer was yes, fucking definitely.
"Well it worked." Rin shrugged.
"Not for everybody." Sango argued back.
Ayame jumped in, "No, but not including us four, there's like six other couples throughout the organization. That's a good chunk of our membership. What are the odds that they all initiated each other? And have you noticed that once you're in a relationship, Shippo never assigns you to an initiation? Be honest, doesn't it make you fight harder but also smarter? Like you have something to protect. Something to come home to?"
"Maybe we just lucked out with hot initiators." Kagome mumbled.
"Well that didn't hurt."
