My Heart Will Go On

Chapter 14: Mates

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The next morning was when Kagome and Inuyasha woke up, with Kagome lying naked and protected in Inuyasha's warm embrace. A mark of two fang bites was on her neck, signaling that she had been mated to a half-demon last night, and that she couldn't be happier. She was the first to wake up, slowly opening her eyes. and she smiled at seeing her hanyou so close. Both of them were naked still, too tired to change back into their clothes after the events that had taken place last night. But when Kagome felt something inside her still, it made her blush. No wonder she had slept so soundly last night, she was complete now.

She reached up her hand, gently rubbing it across Inuyasha's chest, and a small shiver escaped his lips, his own eyes slowly opening up. He had been ecstatic when Kagome hadn't turned down his offer of being his mate, and he was finally happy, and felt as complete as Kagome did right now.

"Hey there. . ." Kagome whispered softly, leaning up to gently nibble on one of his ears. It twitched slightly in her mouth, and she fought back a giggle. He could be so cute when he wanted to be.

Inuyasha stared down towards his mate, for once, nothing but love shining in his amber eyes. This seemed to shock her a bit, and Inuyasha took this as the chance to claim her lips in a kiss once more, and yet again it took her breath away.

They finally parted when they needed time to breath, and looked up towards the sky, blinking in surprise. They had spent the whole night out here? No wonder why it felt a bit cold . . .

Thinking of the cold made Kagome shiver. She was completely naked, so the cold wasn't a good thing for her right now. She smiled when she felt a red haori wrap around her shoulders, and she looked up towards her mate.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked after a while, and she blinked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes?"

Inuyasha seemed to bow his head, now he had her worried. She knew he was going to talk about something serious . . . but what?

"Do you . . . regret becoming a half-demon's mate?"

Kagome's eyes widened. How dare he ask something like that after what she proved to him last night!? Though, she couldn't blame him. Half-demons were hated by most in this world, even if they had done nothing wrong to begin with. She sighed softly, and Inuyasha flinched, fearing rejection now even though she was his mate. Should she reject the mark, it would slowly kill him inside. And if one's mate died, the other would too soon after.

". . .Of course not. Didn't I prove that to you last night?" Kagome asked in a soft voice, cupping his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. She looked at him with a stern, yet loving gaze in her eyes. "Inuyasha, I love you. Only you. That will never change, believe me. Trust me."

He did. Oh boy, he did. He'd never trusted someone so much in his life, not even his own mother, whom had been the only person he had loved until Kagome had come into his life. It was true, though he had once claimed he loved Kikyou, if their love had really been true, then he would not have fallen for Naraku's tricks so easily, and neither would she if she loved him the way she said. She asked him to change for her, while Kagome loved him just the way he was. He was sure who loved him the most, who loved him at all, and he was now very sure that she loved him. Kagome. The girl from the future.

He sighed softly, keeping his head bowed. "I'm sorry. . . I just thought-"

A finger to his lips silenced him, and Kagome's hands on his cheeks forced him to look back up. "Do you trust me, Inuyasha? Do you know that I love you, with my body, heart, mind, and soul?"

Inuyasha could feel his eyes stinging with something blinked a few times. His vision was getting blurry. . . something wet was on his cheeks. . .

Kagome gasped the moment she saw the first tear fall from his eyes. Did . . . did he regret mating her last night? That thought made her hurt more than it should, but the moment she felt his arms around her and the words he said next, made the hurt isntantly melt away.

"Gods, yes Kagome . . . I know you . . . love me," Inuyasha paused a bit, since it was hard for him to express his feelings, and Kagome understood that. Her own arms slowly wrapped around his neck, her fingers sinking into his hair and gently stroking it in an attempt to calm him down. "And I love you too . . . just the same if not more . . . do you know that?"

Kagome nodded and smiled softly up towards him, one of her hands moving back to his cheek to wipe the tears away. "Yes, I do, Inuyasha," she said softly. "I also know it's hard for you to talk about, so I understand if you don't want to say it a lot. I'll still know."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, and Kagome leaned up, kissing the remainder of his tears away. "Don't cry, my hanyou." she told him quietly. "You don't want your friends to find out your a big softie, do you?"

The half-demon huffed, and she giggled. I think they already know, but there's no need to tell him that, she smiled, seeing that he was no longer crying.

He had finally realized that he was still inside her when he felt something warm around him between his legs, and his face flushed. "Uh. . . Kagome?" he asked her softly.

Kagome giggled. "I know. You can get out now, love."

Inuyasha blushed at the new name she gave him, but he didn't mind it. Not one bit, actually. It made him feel loved, which he was. Even if it was by just her, that was enough for him. For that was all he had ever really wanted. Acceptance and love.

He had found it, with Kagome.

He slowly slid out of her, reluctant to do so however. Kagome moaned softly and shivered as she did, and he smiled slightly, amazed he could make her do such things like that with such simple actions. He wrapped his arms around her after putting on his inner white haori and red pants, then stood up with her.

"Let's go back to the village, the others are probably worried," he told her, and she nodded in agreement.

They walked back to the village, Kagome wrapped up in Inuyasha's arms. Kagome had to wear his red haori for now, as her clothes were out of order, so to say. Inuyasha had eaglery tore at them with his claws to get them off, and it made her blush furiously, especially when her entire naked body was exposed to him in the chilly air for the first time. He had called her beautiful, despite the faded scars on her body. So now she would have to go back to her own time to buy some clothes, she didn't want to inconvenience anyone here by borrowing someone's kimono, which would probably get bloodstained in the battle to come.

The final battle was indeed approaching. Both could feel it in their hearts. She and Souta had trained hard yesterday, but they needed to get stronger if they ever hoped to defeat Naraku for good, so that his reincarnation wouldn't . . .

"Inuyasha?" she tugged on his robes, making him look down at her.

"What is it, Kagome?"

"If we change the future, will we change my time too? Naraku's reincarnation killed my parents and destroyed my home. But what if, we destroyed Naraku so that there was no chance of him coming back? Like . . . sealing him away or something? Wouldn't that bring my family back too? Change my future?"

Inuyasha immediately stopped walking, thinking about what she had just said. Anything was possible, but they would have to talk to Kaede about this. Why did he think that this would also involve Kikyou somehow?

"I guess it's possible . . . " Inuyasha said to her, giving her a squeeze of reassurance and hope. "But we'll have to ask Kaede."

"Of course," she slowly nodded, and smiled brightly.

He loved seeing Kagome so happy, he just hoped that her happiness would stay, and that she was right about what they could do. He'd do anything to keep her happy.

I don't know what I ever did to deserve you, Kagome . . . but I'll never let you go.

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TBC

A/N: ^___^ Weren't expecting another chapter right after the last one, were ya? I think I'm gonna extend the length a bit... maybe not exactly 20 chapters but close to it, cause of the final battle and other stuff I got planned. :P Enjoy this for now!