AN: I really didn't mean to leave this for so long. I keep meaning to update and it seriously slips my mind. So sorry guys!

She was on the ground in shock. The arrow in her chest was inches from her heart. Kagome had barely survived.

Inuyasha was on his knees beside her, carefully turning her on her side. "It went through."

His voice was like gravel, barely holding himself together in his mix of sorrow and rage. The pain was starting to push through her shock, Kagone was coming out of it and back to level thinking. But not fast enough as Inuyasha reached for the arrow.

"Inuyasha, no…"

His fingers touched the shaft and sent him flying. Lavender colored electricity shot out of the arrow and knocked Inuyasha on his ass. He was staring at the ammo lodged in Kagome's chest with wide, unblinking eyes.

"A… purified arrow…"

Inuyasha scrambled back to Kagome's side and grabbed it again, the power in the arrow trying to purify him. "Inu… yasha stop!"

"I have to get it out… the baby… it could kill the baby…" He said through gritted teeth.

His skin was beginning to smoke and the tears she cried had nothing to do with her pain. After what felt like an eternity of watching Inuyasha kill himself, he snapped the head off the arrow and pulled the shaft from her body. He quickly covered her with his suikan; panting over her as he held her shoulder together.

Kagome's hand shook as she forced it to rise and hold his face. Inuyasha's skin was clammy and hot and she was sure hers was as well. "Inuyasha…"

Kagome needed him to look at her, to see his eyes and make sure they were still gold. He had his Tessaiga on him but it hadn't stopped him from turning in situations like this in the past.

"Kagome!!!" Sango and Miroku found them, the former at her side and trying to see her wound. But Inuyasha was in her way. "Let me see!"

Inuyasha growled but released Kagome, only to get to his feet and snarl. "Kikyo. Show yourself dammit."

A heartbeat passed before the miko appeared. Her eyes burned with a fury that a woman long dead shouldn't be able to possess. Kagome was in shock, there was so much darkness in Kikyo's soul; she was almost unrecognizable. All that time, Kagome didn't want to believe it but it now stared them all in the face. She knew a priestess shot her the instant the arrow pierced her skin. It was why she didn't want Inuyasha to touch it. But he was right, the baby was a Hanyou like him and even a shoulder shot would have killed quickly.

Kikyo was the dark priestess killing people and either just wanted the baby dead or missed Kagome's heart.

"You followed me. I told you last night about Kagome and you followed me here to kill her?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Inuyasha screamed, his voice pained.

But Kikyo wasn't even looking at Inuyasha. "You're supposed to be pure. A true Miko remains faithful to the path and whole. And now, you're to bear another unholy monster? You cannot be allowed to live!"

"Then you would kill Inuyasha too?" Miroku asked.

Kikyo's frown struggled, either from the thought of losing Inuyasha or that he was mated to someone else. "He won't die."

"I told you, Kagome and I are Mates! It's complete, she dies, I die."

"You are a fool! Don't you see? She was never your Mate, I was! My soul resides in her. Once she's dead, I'll have my soul back and things will be right. It is you and I that are meant to be, Inuyasha."

"You don't even know what it means to be with me," Inuyasha spat, "Kagome is the only one who could ever be my Mate. The reason you and I were even drawn to one another in the first place was because of her. The love I had for you, it was all to prepare me for loving Kagome!"

"You never would have been able to complete the bond anyway. You wanted Inuyasha to become human." Sango added.

"I love Inuyasha exactly as he is."

Kikyo grimaced at her for her words but Kagome felt nothing from it. All she did was speak the truth. The angry Miko pulled back her bow, another arrow aimed at Kagome's heart.

"I can't let you bring another abomination into this world." Inuyasha stepped between, the arrow now aimed at him. "Get out of the way!!"

"What difference does it make? Kill me and you kill her. Just as if you kill her it kills me."

"I told you, you won't die. Your soul is tied to mine not hers!!!"

"I don't want to live without her so if I survive her death I'll kill myself."

Kagome didn't think it was possible for Kikyo to get any paler but she did. Sango was helping her to her feet to try and get her to leave but like hell she was leaving Inuyasha behind. Or Shippo who was now holding onto the back of her leg. There was a crazed Miko on the loose and any of them were a target. Sango would survive as would Miroku. But an arrow through Inuyasha or Shippo would kill them.

"You tried to kill my family, Kikyo. But because of our past, I'm going to let you walk away. Trust me when I say, the next time we meet, I won't be as kind."

There was fear and sadness on Kikyo's face. It had guilt burning Kagome's belly. It easily could have been Kikyo that Inuyasha chose over her. Kagome wouldn't have tried to kill anyone but she still understood that pain.

Kagome watched until the Miko was out of sight and after. Inuyasha put his face in her line of sight to break her out of it. "We need to tend to your shoulder."

His hardened eyes and face were too much for Kagome; her knees gave out. Sango didn't have a good hold on her but Inuyasha caught her without hesitation. Back in his arms, Inuyasha carefully cradled Kagome to his chest, walking them to the camp and her first aid.

"I'm…. I'm so… so sorry, Inuyasha…"

"Shut up. You don't get to say that to me. I'm the one who should apologize." His eyes danced to her shoulder and then back to the path ahead. "It's my fault. It's always my fault."

There were tears he refused to shed in his eyes. It made his golden eyes glitter. "I didn't want to believe it, but Kikyo is the dark priestess. I'm sorry you had to… you have to deal with… that."

Lifting her slightly, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and let a few tears fall. "This is why you're my Mate, Kagome."

oOo

Her current condition earned her a spot on Kirara's back. The flowy fit of her robes kept her from showing but if she pressed down and made it tight, there was a noticeable bump now. The larger she got, the more nervous Inuyasha seemed to get.

They never really talked about the baby; how he felt or how she did. But things had changed since they made love in the hot spring.

Reaching Kaede's village, they all slowed. Inuyasha stayed by her side the entire journey, running alongside her as he always did now. They had barely stopped when he reached up for Kagome; plucking her off the demon's back and setting her on solid ground. With one hand, he gently brushed her cheek while the other took her hand and threaded their fingers together. Things like that (and refusing to take his suikan back) were vastly different to how Inuyasha used to treat her. Openly affectionate as well as…

"Kagome and I are going for a walk." Inuyasha announced to the group, not stopping as he gently pulled her past them and the rest of the village.

Taking Kagome to the Goshinboku, shaded by the dense forest, Inuyasha turned to her and carefully kissed her. Gently cupping Kagome's face he tilted her head back, deepening the kiss with his tongue in her mouth. But she quickly pushed Inuyasha back and got her freedom from him.

"I'm not having sex out here again."

"Wha… why not??!!"

"Because I had a stick up my ass the entire time last time."

He smirked, trying to pull her back to him. "Didn't hear you complain then."

"Of course, I didn't complain! Ima fat bag of hormones that wants you to jump me at every chance we get!"

"And now's a chance," he got his arms around her and grabbed her ass hard, "take off your pants."

"Inuyasha!! When did you become this? This horny… dog!"

She giggled at her joke while he frowned. "We're connected, Kagome. Our souls are one which means I feel what you feel. I'm only as horny as you are. Besides… I really like being naked with you."

She loved how his cheeks still flared red when he said things like that. It meant he was embarrassed being so frank. But she had to disagree. "I don't like being naked ever."

"Why?! We have a lot of fun…"

"Too much fun, hence this bun." His furrowed brow gave way to a laugh when she pointed to her bump. He gently poked it with the tip of his claw. "And I don't feel very…. comfortable naked anymore."

"But… you're beautiful."

She rolled her eyes, "you're just saying that because you have to."

"Why would I have to say anything? Technically, I could just rip your clothes off and do as I please to you."

Pressing her lips together, she stopped her body from reacting to that as much as she could outwardly. Grabbing a hand, she pulled him back towards the village. "Let's have sex in a house."

Inuyasha groaned but let her pull him. "You aren't as loud when you know others are around."

"What do you mean, 'when I know'?" When Inuyasha flinched under her glare, she put it together. "So when you tell me we're alone, it's not always the truth?!"

"There was… one time okay? And it was too late to do anything about it."

"Too late? It's never too late!"

"When you're fisting my hair and screaming my name, yeah it's too late. I could tell you the world was ending and you still wouldn't stop riding me."

Letting go of his hand, she picked up her pace a little and went for storming away but was more like flopping. "I'm never having sex with you again."

Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he hugged her as tight as he dared and put his chin on her shoulder. It made for awkward walking but they didn't stop moving. "Like you could turn me away, you horny bitch."

She tried to get him off but it was pointless, she was only tiring herself out. "Watch me!!"

His nose dug and pushed her hair away and then into the collar of her top. When she figured out what he was doing, she squirmed but he still got his tongue down her shirt and across her mark. Just as it did the first time (as it did every time) her entire body heated instantly and blood rushed to her walls. If he wasn't holding her tight to him, she would have fallen to her knees.

Now jelly in his hands, he could do anything he wanted to her and she would purr in response. "The power of the Mate." He whispered into her ear.

"I wish I could mark you. Teach you a lesson."

"You could always try."

He picked her up bridal style (the way he always carried her now) and felt her added weight in full. He also got a good look at her swell, the loose robes falling around it and showing it off.

"Kaede says… you have three more months until you give birth."

With an arm around his neck, she played with a few white strands that fell over his shoulder. "It's not… exact."

"When are you going home?"

And there it was. He kept asking every time he saw how big she was getting. "I don't know."

"You need to figure that out and fast. The longer you are here the more danger you are in."

"What does that mean?"

His walk was slow, deliberately so. He was taking his time getting back to the village and she had a feeling it was all for this conversation. "The last time we faced Naraku, he tried to kill you. You're a threat to him but also, you mean the world to me. And if he found out you were carrying my pup?"

"Is that why…"

Hesitating, he stopped completely and looked down at her in his arms. "Is that why what?" She shook her head but it was too late now. "Kagome. Tell me!"

Inquisitive as ever, her normal Inuyasha had returned. "Is that why you're nervous? About the baby?"

Now he looked away, starting to walk again as well. It was several silent footfalls before he answered her and her heart was in her belly on top of the baby the entire time.

"I'm nervous… about a lot of things." He said quietly.

"Like what?"

"Like…. if I'll be a good father? A good mate? It's not as if I deserve this…"

"You're going to be great!" She cried out but he wasn't finished.

"I don't deserve you, Kagome. And I don't deserve this happiness we have. It scares me. I'm so nervous every time I see your belly grow because I know any minute now something is going to take it away from me."

Quickly, she pushed out of his hold and got to her feet. The look on his face told her, he thought he had said something wrong. But when she grabbed his face in her hands Inuyasha calmed again. "Nothing is going to happen to us. We are strong and we are going to be just fine."

When she said 'us' and 'we', she meant both her and Inuyasha and her and the baby. No matter which way he heard it, Inuyasha put his hands over hers and slowly shook his head. "You don't know that, Mate."

"I do! I do know it! Regardless of what you think about yourself, don't you think I deserve it? That I deserve to be happy?"

"Are you though? You never asked for any of this. I never asked if you were okay having a baby with me…"

Her hands pulling him down and going up on her toes, she cut him off by meeting in the middle. Sweetly pressing their lips together, she didn't stop until she felt a smile pull at his lips against hers. Then he became needy, desperate as he gripped the back of the suikan and her layers beneath it in a death hold as he continued to hold her to his mouth. He needed it and she gave it to him. When he calmed, she pulled free and panted with him.

"Do you want me? Accept me? Love me?"

He huffed and tried to pull away but now she held on tight. "I had to ask those things you know?"

"You're not answering my questions! And I answered yours."

"I know," he said, stroking her belly, "I want you to be safe and healthy so I want you to give birth in your time. I accept that this means leaving my time to be with you. And I love you so damn much I don't even care, I want us to be together always."

"You would leave this time? For me?"

"I planned to follow you back to your time when you left. You want to go to school and your time is much safer."

His shrug and attempts to look beyond her made it clear he was going for causal when he had thought this through. Inuyasha was going to join her in her time. How long he had planned this, she would probably never know. But it didn't really matter now, either way they would always be together. As long as they survived Naraku and his dangerous minions and the manic Kikyo.

Pulling his hand, she turned them around and started back towards the tree. "Let's make love out here."

"Oh? Now you want to?"

Looking back over her shoulder at him, she grinned dangerously. "How else can I show you my full appreciation?"

He lifted her with that, running them back to the tree. Inuyasha was as eager as she was, slowing as much as he could while taking her clothes off. "How do you want it, Mate?"

With her pants at her ankles, she answered him by stepping out of them and giving him her back. She could hear him fumbling with his pants as she pressed her hands into the trunk of the tree, lifting her hips as high as she could for him.

He lifted them higher, grabbing hold and pulling her feet from the ground just before sinking into her. She moaned as loud as she wanted, all alone in the woods together. Kagome even ignored his chuckle at her, knowing he was just happy with her sounds.

Inuyasha was careful, pulling in and out with gentle ease. It was slow but he still pressed in as deeply as he could, punching her cervix with his tip again and again.

He was growling, picking up his pace as much as he dared. No matter how hard she tried to console him, Inuyasha was scared to be anything close to rough with her. Which was fine, she was coming so quickly these days. The slower he went, the longer she lasted.

Tingling all over, she had to assume this was part of the Mate; making her entire being feel like it was quaking as she came from him. Her first and only lover, Kagome would never know but she was fine with that.

Rolling his body over hers, he sank in a little deeper and moved a little less, coming seconds after her. His mouth was at her ear, whimpering and sighing while he orgasmed. "You're the… fucking best, Kagome."

Leaning all her weight into the tree, he still held her feet off the ground. It left her feeling light headed. "Nice choice of words."

"Are you alright? Was I too rough?"

He set her back on her feet only to pull her up from the tree. She staggered a little and he had her up in his arms a second later. "Just dizzy from good sex."

Chuckling, he sat them down. His back against the tree and her in his lap, he looked blissful as he stared up at bare branches above. "At least I'm good at one thing."

"You're good at a lot of things." She was leaning into his hold, close to sleep and purring her praises into his neck. "You should really give yourself more credit, Yash. Few can say they've accomplished the things you have and you've never had it easy."

"Which is why you have always made me so damn nervous. You loved me so easily. It was like nothing I'd ever had before."

Leaning back, she looked up at him, kissing his jaw to get his attention. "I find you very lovable."

To her pleasure, his entire face turned blood red. "Alright, cut it out now."

She didn't. Getting him damn near to purple before he shut her up with a mind blowing kiss and pulled her to straddle him.

"Kagome? Inuyasha?"

Sango was calling to them from pretty far away. But Kagome could still hear her so Sango wasn't too far. She scrambled off of Inuyasha's lap and he groaned in annoyance. "What the hell is it now?"

"Are you decent?" Sango yelled while Kagome turned purple.

"What the fuck does that mean?!" Inuyasha growled.

"We all know you two aren't out here walking."

With that, Kagome got to her feet and looked for a hole to bury herself in. Inuyasha got to his as well with many curses, helping Kagome dress before hastily dressing himself. "What the hell do you want?!" Sango's head appeared but she had her eyes closed. "Cut that out, we're dressed!"

They were: scrambling to get it done but they were. Sango finally opened her eyes and took steps closer. "There's reports of an attack. A village in the East."

"So? What's that got to do with us?" Inuyasha quibbled.

Kagome elbowed him in the ribs. "We should help all those we can!"

"The word is, a dark Miko attacked them." Sango shouted, an edge to her voice.

Inuyasha was marching towards Sango and when Kagome followed, he paused only to turn back to her and bark. "You ain't going!"

"Why not?!"

"The last time wwe saw Kikyo, she tried to kill you. Remember? Purified arrow narrowly missing your heart?"

She would never forget. How close Kagome had come to losing it all? And the thing she remembered the most wasn't the pain, it was watching Inuyasha nearly kill himself getting the arrow out before it killed the baby.

Kagome knew she was grimacing at the memory but she didn't realize she was shaking until Inuyasha wrapped his hands around her shoulders to still her. "You need to stay far away from Kikyo, Kagome. And I don't want you to see me when I…"

He stopped so she finished for him. "When you kill her?"

Inuyasha paled but nodded in response. Sango was no longer waiting, standing just behind Inuyasha. "She's already dead. You're not really killing her. If anything, you're putting her out of her misery."

Sango meant well and Kagome agreed with her words, but it didn't have the effect Sango wanted on the pair. "Kikyo is dark and dead because of us."

Kagome lowered her face at Inuyasha's words and he began rubbing her back in comfort. Every time she felt sorry for Kikyo or bad about the situation, it only hurt Inuyasha. And the last thing she wanted was for him to feel more pain. So she steeled her emotions and focused on what she could do to help. "I'm coming with you."

"The hell you are…"

"There will be people who are hurt. I can help them!"

Inuyasha loomed over her dangerously, his eyes glinting with red rims. "They will be dead, not hurt. Kikyo wants to kill, don't forget that."

"Yeah, but why?" They both gave her an incredulous look and Kagome sighed in irritation. "Why does she keep attacking villages and killing people? Even dark, it doesn't make sense. What is she trying to accomplish?"

"She's trying to get our attention. Drawl us out." Sango mused.

"Right. But to where? She wants us to go somewhere I think. To follow her."

Inuyasha's hands wrapped around her belly and caused Kagome to jump a little. "She wants to draw you out. You're not going anywhere near that village!"

As much as she wanted to fight him on it, she didn't have any evidence to back up her plight. Even Sango was in agreement with Inuyasha. It left her with no choice but to be left behind while the rest went on to check out the village.

Kaede stirred something in the middle of her hut while Inuyasha stood before Kagome, both of them in the doorway. He was rubbing her back to comfort her and rubbing her belly to comfort himself. "I'll be back before you know it."

"I'm surprised you're leaving us at all?"

"Only because I ain't got a choice!" He whined. "Kikyo and Naraku are gunning for you. I have to put down as many threats as I can while I can."

While she still could, Kagome leaned in and pressed her forehead to Inuyasha's. "I love you."

He was fully flushed when she pulled away but that was one of the things that endeared Inuyasha to her. It made her feel special; Kagome was the only person to speak to Inuyasha this way and it caused an outward reaction in him. It melted her heart because in one hand, Inuyasha was starved of affection all his life and in the other she was the only one for him.

And she would spend all her life making up for what he'd missed out on.

Inuyasha didn't tell her he loved her back. Instead, he dug a hand into the back of her hair and pulled her into him hard. His kiss was rough as if he was struggling to contain himself. Kagome knew, it was his emotions he struggled with. And that this was his way of telling her he felt the same. He loved her and needed her just as much as she needed him. There was no doubt; she was his mate in more ways than one.

It all made Kagome want to protect Inuyasha from anymore pain or suffering. As much as she possibly could.