More months passed with only a few new shards found but it didn't seem to matter much, the little band just went on with their lives day by day. Spring was fast approaching, Shiori could smell it in the air, and as each day passed, she would get more and more restless. There was quite the reason though, she could sense her first heat was on the way with the changes she could feel. Her mind often drifted to having a cub or two, wondering what it would be like and longing for it more and more. Her head turned as Inu shifted against her in sleep, arms tightening a bit around her waist. He claimed he was keeping his shard detector warm but she knew better by now. The question of how he felt remained a mystery though, the hanyou seemed to only be affectionate in his sleep so far and she wondered if he was really dreaming of Kagome. Would he stay or run away when her scent become overpowering? She didn't know but she hoped he would take her and do things that caused her to blush as she thought about them. Funny how over time, her hatred had faded leaving a new emotion in its wake. Only time would tell she supposed….

She giggled after a moment, something wasn't right here.

"I know you're awake, Inu-ko.."

She said quietly, waiting for the words to do what she wished. Sure enough the hanyou soon answered with a growl.

"I'm not a pup, I'm older than you…"

"Whatever, get some sleep, you'll need your energy in the next few days…"

She whispered before leaning her head up to give his chin a little kiss then shutting her eyes and soon drifting off to leave the hanyou with his thoughts.

The thoughts that went through his head made the hanyou blush a bit before he growled softly, he hated it when that happened. But then again, she wasn't awake to see, he could already hear her breathing was in a slow rhythmic sound meaning the cat demon had again dropped off in a matter of seconds. Had she meant what he thought she did? No, she couldn't, he was just a lowly hanyou, a full youkai would never take someone like him for a mate. But then again, he thought with a smile, a normal youkai wouldn't be as close as Shiori was now, all curled up in his embrace, sleeping without a care in the world and trusting him to watch over her. And then there was that little kiss, did the neko know what that gesture meant among his kind? Basically the cat demon had said in the gesture that she submit to the leader male, which in turn meant sooo much more. With a smile on his face, Inuyasha fell asleep, imagining what it would be like to hold Shiori in future, his hands rubbing a stomach rounded with his child.

The next morning, Inu awoke first, seemed Shiori was ready scent-wise and his sense of smell was going haywire because of it. His youkai blood was telling him what he should do about it while his human half was trying to calm him down. It took him several moments to regain his composure enough to nuzzle her neck.

"Shiori?"

She made a mewl and opened her eyes, canting her head back to look at him before smiling in a way he had never seen her do before.

"Ready, pup?"

He had to bite his lower lip to not react to her tone of voice, she was teasing him on purpose but he had to know if what he thought was true, he still had his doubts, he was a lowly hanyou after all, no one wanted half-bloods.

"For what?"

He asked, all too aware of his voice cracking ever so slightly, damn woman and her wiles.

"Me…"

She said quietly before moving away a little and stretching, watching him out of the corner of her eye, smiling when she saw a slight shiver. She turned to face him again, pressing up against him and purring softly by his ear.

"…Better not wait much longer, I won't wait forever…"

She whispered then nipped at his ear before she was gone, disappearing into the forest.

The hanyou shivered after she was gone then exhaled the breath he had been holding so long. "Bitch.." He murmured before jumping down to where Shippo slept. He wanted to leave right away but the group would no doubt worry about them. He picked the little kit up by his bushy tail and counted while the kit started to wake up.

"Inuyasha!"

The kit yelled, starting to telling him off but the Inu bared his claws in front of the boy's face to quiet him. It did the trick, the kit gulped and went silent.

"Shiori and I will be gone for about a week…."

He said before dropping the kit and disappearing into the forest, leaving the kit more confused than when he woke up.

Inu smiled when he caught her scent, she had already gotten pretty far, seemingly playing hard to get. His smile turned more wry as he knew this game would not end in the usual way, sure pinning would be involved but also much more interesting activities. He thought briefly of how it would be, feeling more feral the wilder his thoughts got. Then again, his thoughts didn't need much help, his dreams had been taunting ever since Shiori's scent started to change. Kept him restless so he woke up even more tired in the morning, Shiori poking fun at him, she knew full well what her scent did and that was probably why she suggested more sleep. Oh he was going to get her back when he caught her, many times if he had his way. While entertaining such thoughts, he let her keep ahead, seeing what she had planned.

Her scent seemed to stay in one spot as the sun was high in the sky, waiting for him, teasing him with that tantalizing musky scent. He paused at the opening to a cave, her scent told him she was in there. He smiled softly, the cave would be good for some things but not others, sound was definitely going to travel. But otherwise, everything was still, no wind on the breeze, animals quiet and the she-devil within was silent as well. As he entered the cave, her breathing was louder though as she sensed him getting nearer. He sniffed the air, no traces of fear so he continued. The only sound that met his ears was her shifting impatiently somewhere within. When his eyes spotted her form, he pounced and pinned his soon to be mate. She remained silent so he nuzzled her neck earning a soft purr in return and felt her shiver softly though he knew from her scent it was definitely not in fear. What he didn't expect was her arms and legs wrapping around him and pulling him down to a searing kiss. After that, there was no more holding back from either of them as they gave in to instinct and their desires.