Here's the second chapter of Marked! Now I just want to be clear, I do NOT hate Kouga. I freakin' love that pompous wolf demon. However, I needed him to be a complete ass because I needed Kagome to be afraid. You see, dogs, female puppies especially, hate confrontation. They'd much rather run away then get into trouble, because when someone raises their voice at them, they become afraid and they run. I've come to this concluesion by watching my own dog, so this is not a scientfic fact, just an inference. Now enough with the boring stuff, please enjoy and remember I do not own Inuyasha!
When I woke up the next morning I felt great. Fantastic even. The heat that had consumed me last night vanished, and nausea, headache, and pain in my chest disappeared with it.
Sitting up, I stretched my arms, a strange, almost purring noise escaping my lips while I made a mental note to thank Hojo for the tea next time I saw him.
I sat there, looking around my room, and listened to the cars on the street drive by, while people walking on the side walks and talked to their friends.
Taking a deep breath, I cringed as I smelt the gas and diesel that filled the air. However, I was also able to smell the omelets Mama was cooking in the kitchen, giving me the motivation to get out of bed.
Before heading downstairs, I went to the bathroom, intending to fix my hair. However, when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I shrieked, letting out a high pitched scream.
Shaking, I reached up to my head, touching the foreign objects only to cry out loud and retract my hands when the little furry triangles twitched under my touch.
"Oh my God..." I gasped, reaching up again and grasping the furry appendages. Starring at the little black dogs ears, I squeezed them, only to yelp louder as pain shot through my body. "Oh God, They're real!" I screamed, before finally noticing my hands.
Pulling them away from the furry ears on my head, I inspected my fingers, noticing how much longer my nails were and how they no longer resembled nails at all. Instead of the dull, short nails I use to have, I now had longer, sharp, almost deadly claws.
Gawking at them, I let out a strangled yelp before moving my hands back up to my head and covering my ears. The dog ears that had taken place of my old ones. Opening my mouth to scream again, I finally noticed the two pearly white fangs that we now longer then the rest of my teeth.
Pulling one hand away, I pulled my lips aside, starring at my K9 teeth that now stood out much more then they should. Looking over my appearance one more time, I let out a much louder, desperate shriek.
Now that I was starring at myself, I realized how different my morning had been. I should never have been able to hear the cars driving by or the people on the street. Hell, my window was closed! And the road was at least two hundred feet away!
Not to mention being able to smell the pollution in the air. Inuyasha always complained about how disgusting the air in my world smelt, but I've never been able to tell the difference between the feudal era and the present. The only difference I've ever noticed was how much easier it was to breathe back in Inuyasha's world.
"Kagome! I heard you screaming, are you okay?" Mama yelled, throwing the door open, only to freeze when she saw me. "Oh my.." she murmured, starring at me with a hand over her mouth while I began to panic.
"I-I don't know what happened, I woke up this morning and I could hear everything and smell everything and then I came in here and I saw these and-" I started, flailing my arms around as I rambled.
Mama starred at me, before rushing over to me and taking my ears in her hand, much like she... and I... did to Inuyasha when we first saw him.
I couldn't stop myself from purring when she rubbed them, only to throw my hand over my mouth while Mama squealed in delight.
"Oh Kagome! You look so cute!" she cooed, while I starred at her incredulously, pulling away from her touch.
"Mama! I don't know what to do! Last night I went to bed human, and I woke up a half-demon! I don't know what happened!" I cried, pacing around the room in front of her.
"Um.. Kagome.. there's something sticking out of your nightgown.." she stated, stifling a laugh while I froze. Turning around, I turned my torso so I could see my back in the mirror, shrieking when I saw a black, long furry object protruding from the bottom of my nightgown, and swaying back and forth slowly.
Grabbing it, I felt my skin pull painfully, yelping slightly before turning to Mama who was giggling to herself.
"I. have. a tail. Mama.. I have a tail!" I cried, dropping it as I started hyperventilating, pulling my hair as I screamed in frustration.
"Okay Kagome, calm down. Lets just think about this. What could have happened yesterday that could have turned you into a half-demon?" she asked, dragging me into my room and sitting me down on the edge of my bed.
"Well it was a normal morning, Inuyasha was driving us to our limits to try and find jewel shards. Around noon a demon showed up, he had five jewel shards and wanted something to do with me.
"He injured Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha, and was about to kidnap me I think, but Inuyasha became a full demon. He killed the demon and then turned on me. I thought he was going to attack me but he was being all gentle and kind despite being full demon.
"He bit me and it felt really weird and then he passed out, so we all headed back to Kaede's then I came here," I explained, realizing how poorly I put everything, but it didn't seem to phase Mama.
"Alright, so the only thing out of ordinary was Inuyasha biting you right? Where'd he bite you?" She asked, eyes sparkling as she looked at my dog ears again.
"On my neck, right here." I said, pointing to the Band-Aid before tearing it off to show her. She starred at it for a few minutes, confusion written all over her face before she turned her eyes to my face.
"Kagome there's no bite mark there, just some weird symbol," she said, starring blankly at me, almost like she thought I was lying. Starring at her dumbfounded, I jumped up, running back to the bathroom.
Starring at myself in the mirror, I noticed Mama was right. The bite mark was completely gone, no scab or anything. However, in it's place was a purple lighting shaped stripe that looked exactly like the ones on Inuyasha's cheeks whenever he turned full demon.
However, in the center of the marking there was an ancient katakana scripture that I couldn't decipher.
Looking to the door I saw Mama standing there, just as confused as she starred at the mark, trying to read it. I felt my ears flatten on my head while my tail curled between my legs, watching as her forehead creased in concentration.
"Well? Can you read what it says?" I asked desperately, poking one of my fangs with my tongue, to remind myself not to bite my lip.
"No.. it's a really old writing technique. I've seen it on some of the stuff in Grandpa's storage shed. He might be able to tell you what it says, but you might want to cover your... ears, and maybe hide the tail too. We don't want to freak Grandpa out," she offered, tweaking one of my ears again.
Glaring at her, I pulled away before heading to my room, locking the door behind me. Grabbing my spare uniform, and laying the outfit on the bed, I stripped out of my nightgown and was about to pull on my shirt when I noticed my waist was still wrapped in gauze.
Unwinding the thick white material, I laughed breathlessly when I noticed the jagged gashes that had been there yesterday, were now gone.
"Forget it, Kagome, you have other things to worry about," I scolded, pulling on a pair of panties, groaning when I realized they would never go on right because of my new tail. "I'll figure that out later too, I guess," I complained while putting my bra on.
Looking at my back pack, I grabbed a roll of gauze as I grabbed my tail, wrapping it around my hips like a belt. I then grabbed the gauze and tightly wrapped it over my tail, tying the ends together.
Pulling my skirt and shirt on, I looked in the mirror, smiling in approval at how successful I was at hiding the fluffy black tail under my skirt. Grabbing a green, cloth, headband that matched my uniform, I pulled it on, successfully covering my ears as well.
Heading downstairs, I found Gramps and Mama in the kitchen, drinking tea. Relief washed over her when she saw me looking normal, and well, not half dog, before she smiled at me.
"Good morning, Kagome. Are you feeling any better?" Gramps asked, flashing a toothless smile at me before sipping at his tea. The smell of incense and denture glue assaulted my nose, making my head spin as I sat down.
"Morning, Gramps. I feel a lot better," I said, smiling as Mama handed me a plate with one of her omelets on it. "So, Grandpa, Mama tells me you can read ancient katakana scriptures," I commented, blinking innocently as he eyed me, obviously confused as to why I brought this up.
"Er.. well yes. My father taught me, just as his father taught him. Being a priest I need to know how to read this kind of literature in order to know whether an artifact is indeed a sacred item or not," he explained, sticking his chest out proudly.
Rolling my eyes, I scooted closer to him, batting my eye lashes like I did whenever I wanted something, causing him to sigh.
"Alright, Kagome. What do you want?" he asked, crossing his arms while Mama stifled a laugh. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my hair aside, baring the mark to him. His eyes went wide as he starred at the scripture, brow furrowing in confusion.
"This appeared on my neck this morning and I don't know what it says. I'm trying to figure out why it's there," I stated, glancing at Mama who was leaning forward in her seat, just as eager to hear the translation.
"Why... that's your demon friends name. It spells out 'Inuyasha'," he said, causing my heart to flutter strangely. It was pretty clear that the mark had to do with Inuyasha biting me, but what did it mean exactly? And did the mark have anything to do with my new appearance and the pain I felt last night?
"Thanks Grandpa, but I need to get going," I stated, scrambling to my feet and running upstairs. Stopping at my room, I grabbed my back pack, threw a few extra outfits inside before rushing to the bathroom.
After filling the back pack with all medical supplies I could find, and slapping another Band-Aid over the mark, I ran back to the kitchen and grabbed some snack foods for the others, before heading to the well house. After all, if anyone knew anything about this, it'd be a demon, or a demon slayer.
After hesitating for a moment, I jumped inside, taking comfort in the blue light that clung to me once again.
When I felt my feet touch the ground, I looked up towards the sky, and without thinking about it, I jumped, launching myself into the air before falling back down to the green grass below me, before I even had time to scream.
Laughing breathlessly, I squatted down and placed my hand on the ground, running my clawed fingers over the plush green grass. After a few seconds, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
"Kagome? She's back early," someone stated, causing me to look up towards the village. About a hundred feet away from me, I saw Sango walking towards the well, Hiraikotsu strapped to her back while she balanced a basket of herbs on her hips.
"I'm gonna have to get use to this 'long distance hearing' thing," I grumbled before straightening up and waving her over with a smile on my face.
When she saw me wave, she quickened her pace, causing my tail to twitch painfully when it tried to fold between my legs.
"Hello, Kagome. You're back early. How're you feeling?" She asked, her eyes flickering to the bandage on my neck.
"I feel fine.. but...I have a few questions," I muttered, looking down at the ground as I shifted my weight from my left foot to my right.
"You do? About what?" she asked, smiling at me, but every once in a while her eyes would dance over to my neck.
"Well... I, uh, have two towels in my back pack. Do you want to head to the hot spring and talk there? You know, for privacy?" I offered, and I could see realization flash over her eyes. She could tell that whatever I needed to ask her was important.. very important.
"Oh! Yes, of course. I was just collecting some supplies for Kaede, but she won't mind if we stop at the hot springs. It's probably a good idea we move though, there's a foreign demonic aura around. I've never felt it before," she explained, smiling at me as we started walking to the hot springs, while I stiffened and let out a half-hearted laugh.
When we got there, Sango stripped off her clothes and wrapped her towel around her torso before stepping into the hot water, sighing as she sat down.
"Kagome? Aren't you coming in?" she asked, while I paced in front of her, tugging at a strand of hair. "Kagome, what's wrong? You've been acting strange ever since you got back," she stressed, looking me over as if looking for something that could be held responsible.
"Okay, look. Yesterday you seemed really worried about Inuyasha biting me. I need to know why," I told her, kneeling at the edge of the spring, eyeing her. "Please, Sango. This is really important," I pleaded, folding my hands together in a begging manor.
"Oh, it's nothing. Nothing you need to worry about at least," she said, giving me a strange look. However, the look on my face must have been pathetic because her eyes softened considerably.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Canine demons are very different than normal demons. They're more human, and a lot more loyal. Usually, they won't engage in a fight unless threatened, or unless something they consider theirs is threatened.
"They also grow very attached to companions. For example, Sesshomaru, who normally is very reserved, met Rin, and now would risk his life for her. The same goes for you and Inuyasha. Before you two met he could care less about humans, and now he'd do anything to protect you.
"That's not the only way that they're different, either. When canine demons pick a... partner, they stay with that partner until death-" she explained before I cut her off.
"Wait, but that doesn't make sense. Inuyasha's father didn't stay with Sesshomaru's mother," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest in an attempt to soften my heart beat.
"You didn't let me finish. Just because they were together doesn't mean he chose her as a partner. You see, when a demon truly wants to be with another demon, he 'marries' them, in a sense.
"They fuse each others blood together so their life-span synchronizes. The action binds them together in every sense. They can feel when each other are in pain, or scared, it's like their souls were bound together, and they become mates.
"When this action occurs, it's permanent unless one of the demons die. Then the bond breaks and the living demon can choose another partner, but they're usually too devastated to even consider it," she stated glancing at me.
"And how does this have to do with Inuyasha biting me?" I asked, growing slightly agitated. My ears twitched uncomfortably against their restraints, turning towards every sound that occurred, while I tried to focus on the words coming out of Sango's mouth.
"That's how they bind themselves. The male demon bites the tip of his tongue, then bites into the pulse point of the female's neck. The blood from the wound on his tongue flows into her blood stream, while he takes her blood from her neck through his wound, fusing their blood together.
"It.. well.. is usually done during the actual mating," she stuttered, blushing brightly. "But it doesn't have to be! It just.. usually is. Anyway's, after the male bites her, a mark forms. It shows other male demons that she is spoken for, and it produces his scent.
"It's kind of like a safety measure. When demons, male or female, see the mark and smells the male demon's scent, it warns them that if they kill the female there will be fatal consequences. Mates are very protective of each other, and if a demon's mate is killed, they will do anything to avenge them.
"Usually, when the binding takes place, both the male, and female demon give consent. However, sometimes male demons force themselves on the females, raping them in a sense.
"That's why Inuyasha was so defensive when that coyote demon showed up. The demon was going to forcefully claim you, and Inuyasha already considers you as his, whether he admits it or not," she told me, opting to get out of the hot spring and get dressed, instead of shriveling in the hot water.
"Is that what the demon meant when he said I was in heat?" I asked, but she shook her head, before heading behind a tree to get changed.
"No. When he said you were in heat, it meant you're at the point of your menstrual cycle where you're most fertile. Your scent gives it off and tells male demons that now is the best time to reproduce with you, attracting them," she told me, peaking out from behind the tree while I blushed.
"Inuyasha must have took offense to the demons unwanted pursuit, which was why he was so intent on keeping the demon away from you. When the demon was licking your neck, he was preparing to mark you, and since Inuyasha was incapacitated, I think his demon decided to take over.
"You see, demons are very instinctual, especially canine demons. They choose mates that will bare them powerful sons, and they grow an attachment to that person. However, the longer they know the person, the more emotional the attachment becomes, making it more powerful, and eventually turning into love.
"Based on the way Inuyasha acted when he became a full demon, I'd say his demon side formed an attachment to you. When he saw another demon was going to claim you, his demon side decided that if Inuyasha wouldn't mark you, he'd take over and do it himself.
"I don't think his inner demon wanted to risk losing you," she finished, stepping out from behind the tree and laying her towel out.
However, as she sat down beside me, I realized that whenever she talked about a male demon marking a female, the female was always another demon. Not once did she talk about what happened when a male demon marked a female human.
"What.. what happens when a demon marks a human?" I asked quietly, trying to hide how nervous I really was by looking up at the blue sky and sighing as if I was relaxed.
"No one knows. Until yesterday, I've never heard of a demon marking a human. Humans are not generally close enough to demons to form an attachment, let alone fall in love. Inuyasha's father didn't even mark his mother, and we know he loved her more than life itself. I believe both demons and humans were afraid to try.
"That's why I was so worried. I was afraid Inuyasha's demon blood would consume you, and kill you from the inside. Either that, or his blood would cancel out your spiritual powers, but you're alive, and the jewel shards around your neck are still purified, so I guess nothing happened," she concluded, shrugging her shoulders while I released a shaky breath.
"Sango.. something did happen. I don't know how it happened but, just.. see for yourself..." I muttered, ripping the bandage off my neck. She leaned forward, inspecting the mark, and mouthing Inuyasha's name as she read the scripture.
"Oh my God, it worked! Demons can claim humans.. that's..that's.." she stuttered, trying to grasp the right word, but I grinned sheepishly at her.
"That's not all," I said, showing her the claws on my right hand while I pulled my headband off with my left. She starred at my hands for a few moments before slowly looking up to the top of my head, mouth falling open in shock.
"Oh my God..your ears..." she breathed, reaching up and touching the tip of my right ear, only squeak and pull her hand away when it flicked away from her finger.
"And that's still not it.." I muttered, hiking my skirt up to my hip. With a swipe of my finger, the gauze ripped apart, allowing my tail to sweep back and forth behind me.
"You.. you have a tail.." she choked out, her hands flying to her mouth. "At the well, you looked up at me as if you heard me. I.. I ignored it because I knew it was impossible, but.." she trailed off, once again starring at the two furry dog ears on the top of my head.
"It's not impossible.. anymore at least. I heard you after I jumped fifty feet in the air like it was nothing," I scoffed, earning a small smile from her.
"But.. but how? Yesterday.. you were human! Now.. now you're a half demon.." she pointed out, while I stood up, pacing back and forth in front of her.
"I.. I don't know! I was fine yesterday, but at dinner, my entire body became hot, like I was burning, and I was in an unbearable amount of pain. I was screaming and thrashing around, and I couldn't feel anything besides pain.
"My mother had to tranquilize me because I was in so much pain, but when I woke up I felt fine. Better then fine, I felt great.
"I went to the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror, well, I looked like this. Inuyasha's bite mark was replaced by this mark, and the wound on my stomach was gone," I told her while she sat there, thinking as she bit the tip of her thumb.
"Inuyasha woke up last night a few hours after you left. He was yelling at us, saying you were hurt and he needed to save you. We told him you were in your time and you were safe but he kept freaking out.
"He had a fever so we thought he was just delirious, but he must have been feeling your pain when you were changing.
"It makes sense.. when he fused his blood with yours, since his blood is stronger, it took over your human blood, turning you into a half demon. That's the best way to ensure your life-spans are synchronized, after all," she said, and I froze.
"You're saying.. Inuyasha's awake?" I muttered while Sango starred at me, nodding her head.
"Yes, after we were able to calm him down, he stayed up grumbling for an hour before falling back asleep. He was really exhausted.. and Kaede slipped something in his tea," she stated, giggling into the back of her hand.
"Anyway's, when he woke up this morning he demanded to know what happened last night. He said the last thing he remembered was you asking to stop for lunch.
"We had only gotten to the part about him turning into a full demon before Inuyasha stormed out. When I left to collect herbs for Kaede, Miroku was looking for him to try and talk some sense into him," she explained, allowing me to sigh in relief.
"So he doesn't know about the.. the marking thing.. right?" I asked and she shook her head. "Thank God," I sighed only to freeze again. "Wait.. what about Shippo? Did he come back from the fox academy yet?" I panicked, remembering how other demons can smell when a female is marked.
"No he hasn't come back yet. You do realized you can't hide something like this. The moment Inuyasha smells you he'll notice the difference," she stated, making me blush slightly.
"I know.. I just, I'm afraid he'll react badly," I confessed curling my tail between my legs while my ears flattened against my head.
I could see Sango stifle a laugh when she saw my reaction, but she stood up pulling me to my feet and placed her hands on my shoulders, smiling.
"Kagome, I'm sure everything will be fine. Plus, you look really cute with dog ears!" she exclaimed, making me roll my eyes.
"Well.. I suppose we should get this over with," I muttered, gathering my things together while she grabbed her basket and smiled.
We started walking back to the village while Sango told me about the others. She said Inuyasha's injuries were already healing rather nicely, and besides being a little sore, Miroku was doing just fine.
We could see the village in the distance when the hair on the back of my neck bristled. Bending forward in a defensive stance, a deep growl rumbled in my throat, and the scent of fur, leaves, and dead wildlife assaulted my nose.
"Kagome, what's wrong?" Sango asked, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder while I looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the smell. Soon enough, however, a fairly strong demonic aura made itself known, making my stomach lurch.
"Oh no," she breathed, dropping her basket and pulling Hiraikotsu off her back, as if preparing for battle. "I'd know this demonic aura anywhere..." she cursed before putting her back to mine.
"Who is it? Who's coming?" I asked frantically, the muscles in my legs twitching, urging me to run.
"It's Kouga," she hissed, causing my heart to drop into my stomach. "Listen Kagome, I don't know how he's going to react. He put a verbal claim on you, so he's bound to be angry. So angry, he might even attack," she warned, causing my tail to twitch frantically back and forth.
Finally, I was able to hear foot steps approaching quickly, causing me to turn my entire body in their direction. Sango immediately caught on, turning her body as well, just as Kouga stopped in front of us.
"Why, if it isn't my lovely-" he started, only to cut himself off when he saw my appearance. His nostrils flared, and I swear I saw red seep into his eyes. "What the fuck!" he yelled striding over so he was in my face.
"What the hell is going on Kagome! You mated with that bastard!" he growled, grabbing the collar of my shirt and hoisting me into the air.
"Kouga! Let her go!" Sango yelled throwing Hiraikotsu at him, but he simply dodged it before turning to her.
"Shut up, Bitch! This has nothing to do with you!" he screamed, while throwing me to the ground.
I immediately rolled into a standing position while sweat coated my forehead. I heard a whimper escape my throat, and I knew I probably looked like a deer caught in someone's headlights, shaking with my ears flattened against my head.
He stalked over to a tree before slamming his fist into it, screaming in the process, and causing a large row of trees to crash into the ground, causing me to yelp, flinching closer to the ground.
"Dammit, Kagome! I put a verbal claim on you! You were in every right mine!" he snarled, coming at me again, and instead of preparing for defense, I shrunk down even farther, cowering under his gaze.
"Kouga, please!" I pleaded, tears springing from my eyes as the fear struck me. I could feel myself shaking. A loud, ferocious growl erupted from his throat echoing all around us and causing another whimper to escape my lips.
"Shut the fuck up Kagome! This is all your fault! Dammit I should never have left you alone with that bastard. I should have known!" he yelled, while I fell backwards, trying to scramble away from him.
"Leave her alone Kouga!" I heard someone yell, followed by a growl. Within seconds Kouga was thrown away from me, and I was starring at the back of Inuyasha.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here, you flea bitten bastard" Inuyasha growled, gripping Tetsusaiga tightly in his hand. The smell of incense assaulted my nose and I looked up, just as Miroku approached me.
"My God... Kagome.. what happened?" Miroku gasped, taking a step back, just as Sango approached his side. Hearing Miroku, Inuyasha turned around, and starred at me, finally noticing my appearance.
"K-Kagome?" he choked out, shock written all over his face. After a few moments, rage filled his eyes and he turned around, drawing Tetsusaiga and aiming it at Kouga.
"What the fuck did you do to Kagome," he hissed, making my heart clench while I got to my feet, backing up slightly.
"I didn't do anything you fucking dog!" he yelled, getting into an offensive stance, which only angered Inuyasha more.
"Bullshit you didn't do anything! Look at her! She's a half demon!" Inuyasha screamed, making me whimper again before looking to Sango for help. She however, was busy filling Miroku in on what happened to me.
"I can see she's a half demon! But that's not my mark on her neck now is it!" Kouga screamed back, causing Inuyasha to freeze. He slowly turned around, eyes falling on my neck, mouth hanging open.
My heart dropped into my stomach, and my head started to throb as I tried to suck in jagged breaths of air. When Inuyasha took a step towards me, saying something I didn't hear, I shook my head, finally caving into my instincts.
Looking briefly at everyone around me, I whimpered loudly before turning around and running from them.
The trees flying past me were the only things indicating how fast I was going, but my mind was too jumbled to realize that I shouldn't be able to move at this speed.
It wasn't long before breathing became difficult. Gasping for air, I began hyperventilating, groaning as my heart beat throbbed in my ears.
Glancing at everything that passed by, I realized how afraid I truly was. I had no idea what I was doing, let alone where I was going, but I couldn't stop running. My body wouldn't allow it.
However, after hours of running, I finally noticed how much pain my legs were in. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to make my muscles stop moving, or to at least slow down, but my own limbs wouldn't listen to me.
Forcing my eyes open, I looked forward, only to gasp and let out a strangled yelp before slamming into something hard.
Landing on my ass with a loud "oomph", I looked up, only to gasp loudly and scramble backwards as I starred into the eyes of a slightly shocked Sesshomaru.
"I see my brother has finally marked you," he muttered, looking indifferent as always. Fear enveloped me, causing panicked whimpers to erupt from my throat as I scrambled to my feet, prepared to run again, which caused him to sigh.
"I should have known," he stated, appearing at my side in an instant. I screamed, turning so I could run away, but before I was able to move, I felt him bring his hand down on the back of my neck.
Gasping breathlessly, I fell to my knees, watching as he stepped in front of me before everything went black.
Inuyasha's POV-
"Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on!" I yelled starring at the spot Kagome had been standing before turning to Sango, who was starring at the trees Kagome disappeared into. "Sango, what the hell happened?" I asked, causing her to flinch.
"We tried to tell you this morning.." she whispered, looking down at the ground while rubbing her arm. "Yesterday, after the coyote demon incapacitated you, he tried to forcefully mark Kagome, and that's when you turned into a full demon-" she started but I cut her off.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You told me that this morning. So what? Just tell me why Kagome is a half demon now!" I yelled, looking towards the forest again as I tried to calm my racing heart beat.
My body was telling me to run, chase after her, and make sure she was okay. But I was also feeling a strange sense of fear that didn't feel like it belonged to me.
"If you would just let me finish, I could tell you why she's a half demon!" Sango yelled, causing me to flinch.
"You turned into a full demon, and saved her at the last minute. After you killed the demon, you marked her before losing consciousness.
"Because your demon blood is stronger then her human blood, it took over, changing her into a half demon in order to synchronize your life spans. That's why you had a fever yesterday and that's why you were insisting Kagome needed help. She was changing," she finished, lowering her voice when she spoke the last part.
My heart skipped a beat at the thought of Kagome baring my mark. In almost every sense, Kagome and I were mates, sworn together until death.
"So.. Kagome and I.." I muttered starring at Sango as my heart thudded in my chest. She nodded, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips.
"You're bonded. You can now feel each others emotions, pain, and your souls are now tied together until death," she stated, smiling brightly when she saw a smile break out on my face. However, the fear in the back of my mind kept pushing itself forward, making me remember what Sango said, and wiping the smile off my face.
"You said I can feel her emotions, right? So this fear that I'm feeling.. it's not mine.. it's her's," I muttered, earning another nod.
Quickly sheathing Tetsusaiga, I turned away from Sango and started running into the forest after Kagome.
She was obviously terrified, and most definitely not in the state of mind to protect herself. If she were to run into a demon right now, especially smelling the way she does, the mark of a half demon won't matter.
Quickening my pace, I followed her scent, which was now tinted with my own, through the trees and foliage, desperately trying to catch up with her.
However, as I ran, I couldn't help but worry that she didn't want this. I know she has feeling for me. She's made it clear multiple times that her feelings are more then friendship, but was she in love with me?
Would she want to spend an eternity with me? Would she want to officially become my mate and bare my children.
"Tch, listen to me. I sound like the damn monk," I groaned, pushing my legs harder as I ran.
Did she even understand what the mark meant? Or was I just as bad as that damn coyote demon. After all, Sango didn't mention whether or not Kagome submitted or not. Could it be that I forced myself on her without realizing it?
After hours of running, and going over thousands of different scenarios in my head, my legs gave out, causing me to slam into the ground, tumbling until I crashed into a tree.
"Dammit... she's... fast.." I breathed, sucking in jagged breaths as I stood, leaning against the trunk of a tree as I caught my breath.
Suddenly, Kagome's fear spiked considerably, forming into all out panic, before her emotions disappeared all together.
"Kagome!" I yelled, sprinting after her despite the soreness in my legs. "Hang on, Kagome! I'm coming!" I yelled, my own fear consuming me, allowing me to push my legs harder.
After what seemed like an eternity, a new scent joined Kagome's, one that I knew very well. Growling viciously, my legs moved even faster then I ever thought possible, stopping only when I broke through a clearing.
In the center of the field, I saw Sesshomaru walking towards me, Kagome slung over his shoulder limply.
A loud, possessive growl vibrated through my chest and throughout the clearing, stilling Sesshomaru's footsteps. Seemingly unfazed by my growl, he just stood there, making me even angrier.
"What the fuck did you do to my mate," I growled viciously, drawing Tetsusaiga and pointing it at him. Sesshomaru raised an eye brow slightly, the only indication that he heard me, before shifting Kagome so he was holding her in his arms.
"Sheath your sword, half-breed. I did nothing to the girl. In fact, I was on my way to return her to you," he stated, eyes narrowing before he tossed her towards me.
Sheathing Tetsusaiga, I caught her effortlessly, holding her with one hand while my other hand twitched towards my sword, ready to draw it if necessary.
"You're lucky I rendered her unconscious. If she continued running, she would surely run into her death," he said, turning and striding away from me towards the forest.
However, just as he was about to disappear between the trees, he stopped, turning slightly and starring back at us.
"I've assured your mate's safety, and I will continue to do so whenever necessary, but I expect the same courtesy to be extended to myself. If anything happens to Rin, it's on your head," he warned, before turning back towards the forest.
"Don't disappoint me... Brother," he finished, before disappearing into the trees. Exhaling, I backed up to the nearest tree before slumping against the trunk, exhausted.
"Dammit, Kagome, you'll be the death of me," I moaned, shifting her so her back was lying against my chest.
Burying my face in her hair, I sighed in relief knowing she was finally safe. Letting myself lay there for a few minutes, I listened to her even breaths and watched her ears twitch every few seconds when the wind tickled them.
Finally deciding it was time to head back, I scooped her into my arms bridle style before standing up, and beginning the journey back home.