Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I claim to, InuYasha and Co. They belong to their respective owners.

Ownage: I own Taru. Whoo (in a not-so-much kind of way)!

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Chapter Four - Meeting Your Mother-In-Law

When meeting someone new, one must remember to be polite and eloquent.

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Kagome thrashed wildly against the hair wrapped around her, feeling it cut her steadily. She let out a small mew of pain before relaxing her body. Maybe she could just slip from it….

But before her body could slide through it, she was suddenly face to face with…a girl.

Her eyes widened and surveyed the woman. Her hair was a short bob, cut just below her chin and the color of midnight. It was just…black. She wore a band in it, holding back the hair from her face. Her eyes were a strange violet and slanted slightly downward at her nose. Her clothes were made of something close to leather, barely covering her. The neckline was past her breasts while the skirt came to a screeching halt just before it would become nothing more than a shirt. There was a slim red belt around her middle to match the band in her hair.

"You certainly are an odd priestess, allowing yourself to be captured by a youkai," the girl taunted. Her long finger went to Kagome's chin, lifting her face up to better evaluate it. "Shouldn't you have better honed skills than that?" She snickered. "Or are you one of those mikos that has miniscule purification powers but has deadly aim? Ha!"

Kagome felt the bindings slump and go limp, letting her move her arms and legs.

Seeing her confusion, the demon said, "Since you seem to have little power without your bow and arrows, what's the point of killing you when you're bound?"

Kagome, breathing heavily, thrust out her hand, hoping she could do what she had done to Mistress Centipede once more. She could feel the power pulsing through her hand and into the demon's neck, throwing both of them backwards. Slamming against the side of the well, Kagome shakily stood, breathing heavily as the demon girl began to laugh softly. The young girl's mind raced, wanting nothing more than to wake up and find that it had all been a horrible nightmare. Even if this is a nightmare, where is InuYasha?!

Her hand caught the edge of the well as she tried to hold all her weight up, her vision blurring slightly. I…I have to get home. But…how do I…do that? As she felt her eyes drifting closed, she saw that the demon was coming towards her with an arrogant stride.

"Oh, but you are a tricky one!" the girl laughed, as Kagome fought to stay conscious. Suddenly, a katana was pressed beneath her chin, lifting her face up. She felt a small trickle of blood come from her throat because of the sharp point of the blade and flinched unnoticeably. "You forget, miko, that I know a good deal of those tricks! I have been around the block quite a few times, my dear."

"I'm not from here," she bit out quietly, trying not to show how frightened she was of what the demon planned to do with her. The girl didn't hold the katana—hairs did. They were attached to her long, slender fingers as if they were the strings to a puppet. They suddenly grew taught, taking the youkai's attention from the girl in front of her.

"Well, it seems that friend of yours—the hanyou?—is quite feisty. I believe I'll have to kill you quickly. Then I will go take care of him and everything will be peachy!" The smile she gave Kagome showed all of her teeth as she brought up the katana, waving it in front of the young priestess's face. "Hmm, now, would you like to close your eyes or do you prefer to watch? I know some of my victims don't want to see their blood spilling onto the ground, but"—the youkai shrugged—"to each his own and all that."

Hoping to keep the demon occupied, Kagome swallowed harshly, fighting back the darkness that invaded her vision. Stall…. InuYasha will get here, so just distract her! "C-can't I know your name before you kill me? It would let me rest more…peaceably." She played on the demon's obvious affliction for drawing things out and seeming merciful.

"Oh!" the female youkai breathed. "Thank you for reminding me!" With a great bit of show, she rose in the air, spinning in a quick circle. "I am Yura of the Hair. Immortal by all standards!" She floated down in front of Kagome's face. "And what would your name be?"

"I'm…Kagome of…Tokyo," Kagome answered, shaking her head swiftly to shake away the chains of unconsciousness.

"Tokyo? I have never heard of such a thing before." Yura tapped her chin thoughtfully with one slender finger. "Are you sure that is the correct pronunciation?"

Kagome nodded, slowly sliding away from where the katana pressed into her throat. Yura saw the movement and raised the sword.

"Oh, but you are a sneaky one!" As Kagome continued to slide away, Yura's eyes narrowed. "Where do you think you're going?"

With the spitting question, she slashed the katana forcefully down. To duck the blow, Kagome leaned backwards, unknowingly toppling herself into the well. She let out a small scream as she felt herself falling, trying valiantly to hold onto something. She didn't know what to expect at the bottom of the well; she could be pierced by the bones of Mistress Centipede or disappear as Kaede had said would happen. No, Kagome, don't be a pessimist. You will land safe and sound at home and everyone will tell you this was all a dream! There's no such thing as demons, spells, or Mates! You're just in a bad dream!

When she landed at the bottom of the well, she looked up, expecting to see Yura's taunting face but instead…she saw a light shining down on her just before she heard her name yelled by…Mama? Her mother couldn't be near Yura or InuYasha…there was no way….

Her mind went black as she heard something hit the side of the well and her mother began climbing down.

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Though his conscience told him he should have gone easier on the ningen girls, he'd known he hadn't had much of a choice; they had just kept getting back up whenever he'd pushed them away.

He left Kaede and Taru to deal with the unfortunate humans, racing into the forest, following Kagome's scent through the trees, passing by the Goshinboku with a small twinge of regret. But he had to keep his mind on finding his Mate and getting her out of harm's way. He could think of the past some other time.

He skidded to a stop when he saw a scantily dressed woman straddling the Bone Eaters' well, bent over to look into it. He could still smell Kagome, though it was quickly fading. What did she do to her, damnit?!

"How odd," the girl said, speaking to herself. "She doesn't seem to be down there anymore." She shrugged before jumping off the sides of the well. "At least I got the Shikon--" she was cut off when she spun around to find him directly behind her, his lips pulled back in a snarl. "Oh, hello." She blinked large purple eyes at him. Then she gasped. "Such beautiful hair! But it looks very unattended. How could you not take care of it properly?!"

Ignoring her statement, he snapped his teeth impatiently. "What did you do with Kagome?" he growled, baring his fangs in warning. Something about her…wasn't right. She smelt of human blood and…hair. He couldn't smell if she was youkai, as she acted, or if she was just a murderous ningen.

She tilted her head to one side in confusion for a moment, then bounced up and said happily, "Oh, her! Well, I was going to kill her, you know, after I took the jewel fragment from her, but she fell into the well instead! Wait. Are you the hanyou who was with her earlier? InuYasha, is it?"

"How do you know my name?" he demanded, crowding closer to her, expecting her to back away at his intimidation technique.

Instead, she flew up to stand on…nothing and said, "I think she may have called for you once or twice, but otherwise there have been a few…rumors going around about the son of the Great Dog Lord being revived or whatever. I truly couldn't care less who you are. If you don't have a jewel shard, I have no problem with you." She tensed to jump away.

He did the same, launching himself to slash at her with his claws, missing by mere centimeters as she leapt away.

"Why, you!" she breathed. "Don't cut that hair! I need it to stay up here, dog!"

Hair? The question rang in his head. I don't see any fucking hair!

"If I didn't have previous engagements, I would have to kill you now! But it will have to wait; I'm trying to keep to a strict schedule these days." With that, she was gone, disappearing before he could think to track her.

Scenting the area surrounding him, the inu hanyou moved towards the well cautiously, half expecting a trap. When he didn't sense anything threatening coming at him, he dipped his head towards the opening of the well. He saw straight to the bottom, but there was no sign of Kagome.

But her scent…. I can smell her scent strongest down there….

Deciding to investigate this phenomenon, InuYasha hauled himself over the edge and allowed his body to fall. Instead of hitting the dirt as he had expected, a sudden feeling of weightlessness overtook him, making him take in his surroundings. He caught a brief glance of purple before his feet met the bottom of the well at last. Funny, I didn't think it was really that deep.

Leaping out, he was a bit taken back by what he saw. He was…inside a hut. And there were stairs in it. He couldn't see a door, though. How the hell am I going to get out?

As he scented the air, he caught Kagome's aroma leading up the stairs. She must have been nearby because the smell was practically overwhelming to him. Taking all the steps in one leap, he looked at the wall in front of him and saw a crack of light. He put one finger in it and pulled, surprised when the wall slid away from him. Watching it cautiously, he was suddenly hit with the strong odor of hot metal and lightning…but there weren't any clouds. Confused, he looked around, but there was still no sign of a storm.

Pushing his confusion to the back of his mind, he diligently went back to searching for Kagome, though it didn't take him long. As he neared what had to be a lord's home, he glanced up, smelling Kagome above him. With one jump, he landed beside a window that had been left wide open. Kagome was definitely in there.

Just before he moved inside the room, a sudden roar shocked him, making him spin around, still vicariously on his perch. He watched as metal things moved swiftly past the hut, tensing to go attack them. But when none seemed to be coming for the hut, he pushed that aside, also. He wouldn't waste his time doing away with stupid metal beasts that didn't try to hurt him first.

Turning around, he sank into the room, a little astonished by what he saw.

The walls were pale blue and covered with oddly realistic and shiny paintings. There were two doorways, one slightly ajar revealing a smaller room. A servant, maybe? The question quickly left his mind when he peeked inside, seeing many clothes, a lot like the things he had taken off her that first night. Closing the door--all he had to do was push it--InuYasha watched the rest of the room.

There was a desk with a weird thing perched on it, smelling a lot like lightning. How the hell is there a storm in that tiny thing? If it wasn't made out of metal, I'd think it was a plant! Ignoring it, he saw quite a few scroll-like objects with hard covers next to the contraption, ignoring them. They didn't smell like anything other than paper and ink.

Another glance around laid his eyes on Kagome's prone form that lay across her bed. She was on top of the blanket instead of under it. The sight made him wary; it showed that someone had brought her here, most likely when she was asleep. Moving towards her, eyes and ears alert to everything around him, he leaned down to take in her full scent. He caught no trace of poison or anything of that sort. That knowledge made him relax slightly.

What he saw when he focused on her face made him furious at whoever had done this to her. She looked as though she were having a bad dream, a small whimper leaving her throat as one of her hands fisted in the blankets.

Swearing a painful death to whoever had done it to her, he slowly moved on the bed, hoping to let her sleep longer. Crawling over her, he sat down and pulled her into his lap, cradling her close to his chest. She instantly curled towards him. Her fingers even curled into his haori, clutching it with surprising strength.

He could see her neck perfectly from her position and had to stifle a groan. His body was demanding he mark her then to push her instincts into her consciousness. Of course, he couldn't be sure that she would have the same instincts as other youkai Mates, since she was the only one he knew to be human, besides his mother. She might just think the marking was barbaric. He knew many humans thought of it as such. But to youkai--and hanyou--it was an intricate part of becoming Mates.

Any male with demon blood--even the smallest amount--could detect his Mate immediately using one of his senses, as InuYasha had told Kagome. But that didn't make it official. A mate-mark had to be placed on the female to make sure no other male could take her. For youkai, the bite mark would push all mating instincts to the forefront. It was a lot like an aphrodisiac. But for humans, it could be totally different. The only other human Mate he had ever heard of was his mother, and he hadn't been old enough to understand mating when she died.

But some part of her had to be like a youkai's. Surely the mate-mark would serve the same with her as it would have with a demoness.

Leaning down, InuYasha inhaled her scent from where it was strongest--the crook of her neck. Opening his mouth, he prepared to bite into the soft skin there when the second door was flung open.

Several things happened at once. First, a small boy baring a faint resemblance to Kagome began screaming for his mother. Second, Kagome jerked awake in his arms, burying her face into the fur of his haori. Third, InuYasha jumped up to stand on the bed, ready to protect his Mate no matter what, and hit his head on the ceiling of the room.

"Mom!" the boy shrieked, holding out the word shrilly. "Vampire! Vampire!"

"Souta!" Kagome shouted, sitting up in InuYasha's lap as he collapsed in pain on the bed, one arm leaving the back of Kagome's legs to cradle his head.

"My head," the hanyou moaned, eyes squeezing shut as the girl in his lap struggled to make the arm strongly holding her waist drop away. He whimpered when another wave of pain shot through him, his ears pinning back into his hair.

"Let go of my sister!" the boy--Souta--yelled. As if that were his battle-cry, he flew into the room, grabbing that weird storm/metal thing. Before InuYasha could shield himself, the thing hit his head, shattering. Instinctively, he covered Kagome's much smaller body with his own, glass falling around them onto the blanket.

When he realized it was safe once more, InuYasha glared at the boy, his lip pulled back in a snarl across his teeth.

Souta took several large steps back as another person--an older woman--ran into the room, her eyes immediately drawn to the hanyou clutching Kagome. Her eyes widened, and he knew that she had no idea what to do. Of course, it didn't help that the boy was crying, "He's a vampire! I saw him! He was going to bite Kagome!"

After those words left the boy's throat, Kagome glared up at InuYasha as though they hadn't just been attacked by a brat that had been wielding a metal object. "You were going to bite me?! What is wrong with you, InuYasha?!" She grabbed for one of the pillows that sat on the bed a few inches away from them and smacked him in the face with it. "You don't just go around biting people!"

He bared his fangs warningly at her, though she didn't seem to notice--or maybe she didn't care. Tightening his arm around her, he growled, "And that gives that brat the right to hit me over the head?! What's wrong with you, Kagome?!"

She rolled her eyes. "You can rip apart a youkai just fine but a little--wait." Looking at her desk, her eyes fired at Souta. "You used my lamp?! You just broke a perfectly good lamp!"

Pointing his finger at the silver-haired boy in the room, Souta's eyes filled with angry tears. "He…he was going to…bite you. I-I didn't know what to do!" he said quickly, stuttering. "Was I just supposed to let him?!"

Before Kagome could answer, InuYasha snarled, "Yes! That's exactly what you were supposed to do, brat!"

"Hey! Don't insult my son!" the woman said, finally finding her voice. "And let go of my daughter! We don't even know who you are!" She took a furious step forward, but he saved her the rest of the trip by moving off the bed swiftly, meeting her face to face, though he was quite a few inches taller than her.

She didn't back down, though. Instead, she demanded, "You'd better put my daughter down!"

Defiantly, he brought her closer to his chest, ignoring her mutter of protest. "Ningen, don't give me orders. I don't have the patience for you."

"InuYasha! Don't talk to my mother that way!" Kagome began squirming, forcing him to put her on the ground or drop her. When she put her back to her mother and glared at him, he scowled in return, rage rising in him as she continued to issue orders. "Why are you here, anyways? Go back to…wherever it is you came from!"

He leaned down to mutter for her ears only, "I won't leave here without my Mate."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at his tone. "Are you still going on about that? Don't you realize that I'm not your Mate, yet?!" She spun on her heel to look away from him, determined to have the last word. "Mama, Souta, I'm sorry about this. I don't even know where he got such a silly idea like that."

Her mother seemed a bit relieved and nodded, grabbing Souta by the arm to tug him out of the room. "If you need us, Kagome, just yell." With that, they were gone.

When Kagome started to follow, InuYasha grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn back to him. "Damnit, I'm not fucking done talking to you yet!"

She grabbed his hand daintily within her own two fingers and said, "Yes, but I'm done talking to you." Dropping his hand, she started away from him but suddenly stopped. Without turning around, she spoke to him. "InuYasha…how did you know to go into the well?"

Confusion at her question rolled through his mind. "I followed your scent."

She gave him a perplexed look for a moment before shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm just not used to hearing that. I've never met a demon before," she added softly, watching him with a wondering expression. "And it's not like I'm gonna be around you for very long, so I guess it doesn't matter, huh?"

Fury made his consciousness blur for a moment as he growled, "The fuck you won't be around long!" Not giving her time to react, he swung his arm out and around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. She gasped and put her hands against his chest, attempting to pull away from him. Unfortunately, it did nothing to sway him. "You're my Mate, damnit, which means you're stuck with me. Forever. And if that isn't a long damn time, I don't know what the hell is!" She thrust herself back, trying to get away from him, but it didn't matter; he held tight. "I'm not gonna give up my one Mate because you're afraid of a hanyou!"

Fire flashed in her russet eyes. "Don't tell me what I'm afraid of! And, to repeat myself, I am not your Mate!"

"You're not even youkai; how the fuck would you know?! A fucking ningen like you shouldn't even be my fucking Mate!"

"Exactly!" Kagome yanked herself from him, breathing heavily. "So don't expect me to give up my life for someone I don't even know! All I know about you is that you're a half-demon that was pinned to a tree for fifty years by some priestess! Oh, and that you're a lunatic!"

"Then you're fucking stuck with a lunatic, bitch!"

She backed away from him, her hands clutched in tight fists. "Don't call me a--"

Her words stopped when he began stalking after her, following her around her room until finally she stood in the open doorway. "W-what are you d-doing, InuYasha?" She cursed her breathless--almost frightened--tone when it reached her ears. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

His movements increased, forcing her own to follow suit. Something told her--either the sudden flare in his eyes or the set of his body--she wouldn't appreciate being caught by him. Her body tensed, ready to flee. His eyes shone in the soft light within her room, coming from the only light--the lamp residing beside her bed. Sometime between the time her family had left the room and InuYasha began stalking her, the sun had fully set, shrouding them in relative darkness.

"I-Inu…Yasha?" she asked almost desperately, her voice barely a squeak. She found herself moving out of her room, preparing to run, noting that he was doing the same.

With little thought to consequences, Kagome slammed her bedroom door closed, turning and racing through her home, unknowingly going back to the well house without a word to her family. She knew InuYasha would follow her, so she only had a few moments to find a safe place.

Mere seconds after she entered the small hut, she heard her red clothed pursuer land outside the doors, his breathing a rasp of angry mutterings of discipline. Oh, gods. I can't let him catch me if he's acting like this!

Stumbling down the stairs in the blink of an eye, Kagome was poised to jump into the well when he burst into the shrine, his eyes flashing as they caught hers. Without another thought, the school-girl pushed herself into the well, feeling herself falling for too long before she felt her hands meet dirt. She knew he would follow soon after and frantically began climbing up the sides of the old well. She made it in record time.

A bright light emitted from the well behind her, making her freeze in fright. With his superior hanyou strength, he would merely have to jump up and he'd block her escape.

Determined, Kagome started running again, desperate to find somewhere to hide from the psychotic half-breed. How can he think I'm his "Mate"? I'm not even part youkai, nor have I ever met one! He landed somewhere close behind her, causing her to start, but not deterring her mission. She would make it to safety without being--

"Kagome! What happened to ye?" the old priestess's voice questioned from somewhere to Kagome's left. She stopped, hearing InuYasha crash angrily through trees in her wake, relief washing through her.

Kagome ran to Kaede's side, her breathing coming in harsh gasps. "Kaede! You have to help me! InuYasha's--"

To punctuate her unformed sentence, InuYasha landed between the two women, forcing Kagome to walk backwards to stay out of the reach of his arms. "Damnit, don't slam fucking doors on me," he snarled, towering over her even from a few feet away. "You need to learn some goddamned respect for your Mate!" He noticed the way she flinched at his words, uncaring that she was frightened. "You're lucky I don't turn you over my damned knee!"

Neither noticed as Kaede pulled something from within her robes, mumbling lowly, "I should have known I'd have to use these."

Kagome's eyes were caught by something glowing in her would-be savior's hands and saw that she seemed to be…praying to them. Then the beads disappeared one by one, somehow flying through the air to circle around InuYasha's neck. Both the girl and boy froze, looking at the necklace around his neck. But, after a moment, it didn't matter; InuYasha started after her once more.

She yelped and tried to make a beeline for the village--okay, so I'm going to Taru for safety. Sue me--but he was there blocking her way.

As though exasperated with their little show, Kaede spoke plainly, as though she were merely talking about the weather. "Kagome, all ye have to say is one word to subdue him."

Frantic, Kagome searched her brain for the answer to that. Why does everyone have to let me figure things out! Just tell me the word that will stop a dog demon from--I'm stupid. I shouldn't have even needed a moment to think about it! "Sit!" she yelled.

The next moments were a blur as a) the beads began to glow around InuYasha's neck, b) InuYasha flew to the ground--hard, and c) Taru came running into the small clearing they had ended up in, swearing vengeance on anyone who had made Kagome scream.

"Wha…what the fuck is this thing?!" InuYasha demanded from his prone position on the forest floor, a small crater in the shape of his body showing as he tried to push himself upright. But it was as if the necklace was too heavy, holding him close to the dirt mercilessly.

"Beads of subjugation. Ye had best learn to control yourself, InuYasha," Kaede answered, turning towards the village. "Now, will ye come with me to check upon the villagers ye injured? I suspect a youkai was involved."

Kagome followed after the elderly miko, Taru going to her side with a dark glare sent to InuYasha, knowing that he had been the cause of the commotion. But he didn't say a word, content just to walk beside his "courted".

I hate fucking humans. And that bitch is going to learn who's the fucking dominant one in this goddamned mating.

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I know, I know! It's been a month since I last updated. I'm sorry. It was way too long. But my computer is going crazy and I almost lost all my files.

This chapter was a little short, but it's also one o'clock in the morning for me.

School alert:
Since school is rapidly approaching us, I have a sad announcement: I may only be able to update two times a month (that means in all, not per story). I'm sorry to all those who are loyal readers of my stories. All I can say is that I will update as often as possible. I warn you, there may be long waits, though, for chapters. Please bear with me.

Again, question: Is it "bare" with me or "bear"? I've been wondering that for awhile.

Read and review!
SS98