The Weight On His Shoulder

By: Lil6ter

The young man had been standing there for the better part of the day. Just standing there on the top of the hill, gazing out into the serene feudal sky. He had watched the changes it had gone through. The calming blues had melted into the vivid reds and oranges. They were so warm...so comforting, and yet they were sad at the same time. The deep red...almost the color of blood made him think of the day's own death... and how it was slowly killing itself just like the day before it, and the day before, and the one before. Each day had to die in order to give birth to the next one. Oh how he wished time could just stand still...could just never change. He never wanted this day to end. He should be celebrating...he should be happy. They had completed that which they had set out to do two years ago. Their mission was done...there was nothing left to do...nothing left that required the thrill of the battle. Their quest was over. So where did that leave him? Where did that leave the others? Most importantly...where did that leave her? No...no matter how much he wanted this day to never end...to live for an eternity in this moment...he knew it could not be done. The rich colors of the sunset had already faded into the dark blue plane that stretched as far as the eye could now see, allowing only the first of the night's stars to shine.

So he stood there...just thinking...just watching. The late night breeze stirred the air as well as his memories. He thought back to the times that they had all fought side by side in the heat of their many battles. Of the times when he knew that he had others that he could lean on and rely on because of how many times they had told him that he didn't have to face things alone. Of the many times that Miroku, that stupid lecher, had decided to ask the women of the different villages they had visited to bare his children. Of the times when Miroku decided to get a little too friendly with Sango and watched with glee as he was repeatedly knocked unconscious. He still didn't completely believe that Miroku was a "pure" Buddhist monk as he often claimed to be with an all too innocent face. He couldn't believe that Miroku actually proposed to the vicious demon slayer...and that she had accepted on top of that too.

 He thought back to the times when he and Shippo would wait hours on end for her to return from her time. To how Miroku, Sango, and Shippo would all encourage him to suck up his pride and go get her. To the times when he would argue with her just to see how cute she looked with her face flushed with anger, and the many "sits" he received in turn. He thought of the times when the two of them would just sit together and look at the stars in the heavens above. She always said that they were so much brighter here then they were in her time. Sometimes they would just sit there and simply enjoy each other's company while watching the dark night sky twinkling with the stars above. They didn't have to talk...they just sat there, completely content with each other. Sometimes they did talk. They discussed their future after their quest was over. Those conversations were rare and short-lived. No one wanted to think about what would happen once she was no longer needed here: once he no longer had a reason to drag her back to this place... and to him. He thought about all of the times that he made her cry too. Of the times when she tried to hide her tears when he ran off to the "other woman"...to Kikyo. He knew it hurt her, but he still did it. He had to know what Kikyo knew about their quest and to make sure that she was still alive. It was necessary for him to go, and she understood that. That didn't mean that his actions didn't hurt her though. He thought of all of the times he insulted her. Calling her stupid or slow or weak or ugly. He knew how deep they cut into her, but he had to say it. He had to hurt her. He had to protect her from him. He couldn't let her get too close to him, or him to her. It was the only way to keep the two of them from getting hurt. Yet... somehow... she managed to break down all of the barriers he had carefully constructed around his heart.

He didn't know when he first started to feel this burning ache in his heart. It had started slowly, so slowly that he never noticed it happen, and it eventually consumed his being. Perhaps it had started on that one faithful night when one of his most guarded secrets was let out into the open. Damn those spider heads. They made him trust her. They made him put his faith into another person. They made him reveal when he was the weakest, both physically and emotionally, and she hadn't been repulsed by him. Perhaps it was when he had his first transformation. When he first became a cold-blooded killing machine. She didn't turn her back to him. Didn't run away in fear. Didn't back down from the monster that he became. The times that he could have fallen for her were innumerable. He did know the exact moment that he knew that he loved her without a doubt in his mind. It was the time when they had first kissed after he thought that he had lost his soul. He could still remember regaining his soul, and how he was slowly aware of the feeling of soft lips pressed to his own. He had subconsciously wanted that for so long, and he couldn't even truly remember how it started. He was happy for what he could remember though. How soft and delicate she felt pressed up against him. The feel of her nails digging into his forearms. The feel of her gentle breathing warming his cheek where it gently caressed it. Her lips molding to his perfectly, and he swore that he would remember that moment forever. No matter what happened, in the end if he had to leave her, he would hold onto that moment for the rest of his life. He prayed that it wouldn't come to that. He needed her with him. He wasn't even sure if he could manage to live without her. She was all he really had in life. If there was a god, any god, he prayed that after 200 years of ignoring a lowly hanyou's prayers, they would heed them now. They would let him stay with her. Let him stay with the only person who made him feel like a living being.

There was a way. He knew there was a way. He and his brother had finally come to terms and Sesshomaru made a very promising proposal to him. It was almost funny. It could have been the fact that he had destroyed one who even the great Lord of the West could not dispatch of, but after over 200 years of ignoring his very existence, his brother, the person who had always said that he wasn't even worth the dirt that he walked on had offered a way to make him happy. To give him something that he had always wanted. Love and Acceptance. He had offered him a life of his own and a fresh start in her time. A time when no one knew of his dirty blood or of the shame that he put his family through. A clean slate and a chance to make something of himself and to prove himself to her. Oh how he wanted nothing more then to accept. He knew he could blend in with the people who lived there, for he had achieved what no other hanyou had. He had eventually gotten a hold on his demonic blood. The ability to call upon his human or demon blood at will and consequently, the ability to alter his appearance to look more demonic or more human. He never did, for he never saw the purpose in it. Shortly after gaining this new ability, he had found a way to hide the purple stripe that was boldly adorning each cheek, which served to show this new power. What the enemy didn't know could only hurt them, so he therefore often chose to hide his crests. It had proven to be very useful in the final battle against Naraku and had ultimately helped lead to his death.

He knew that, but what he didn't know was if she wanted for him to live in her time with her. He knew what that would mean to him, but did she know too? Kagome had once promised to always stay by his side, but would she let him make that same promise to her? He wanted to ask her, he wanted to talk to her, but he needed to gather his thoughts first, and subdue this feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had never felt anything like it before. It was like a combination of excitement and worry. He almost felt anxious. So there he stood. On that hill, all day, with his sword the Tetsusaiga on his shoulder poised for battle.

He was so lost in thought that he never knew when she had approached him with her first aid kit, for she had come to him from down wind of him and his acute sense of smell had completely missed the soft scent that was all Kagome.

"Inuyasha," she called out tentatively, ignoring how his already stiff posture seemed to stiffen even more from the sound of her worried voice. "You have been up here all day, ever since we killed Naraku. You wouldn't even let me treat your wounds or come for Ramen. We are all very worried about you. Do you wanna talk about it? Will you at least let me bandage you?"

She never liked it when he went untreated from a battle, and this one was no acceptation. In fact, this one was their worst battle ever, but she had refrained from treating the deep gashes that ran across his chest and arms. She could tell that he needed to be alone for a while and to think which is why she hadn't pressed the subject, but they both knew that it was only a matter of time before she attacked his bare flesh and open wounds with hydrogen peroxide, creams and bandages. She was thankful that the haori and kasode provided some measure of protection, though she knew that they and mended their rips long before Inuyasha's strong skin and muscles; such proof was evident now. She was expecting him to put up a fight like every other time she had cleaned his wounds, but she was pleasantly surprised to see that he was willingly putting his sword away and removing his deep red haori and soft cream kasode before sitting on the ground before her.

She was awestruck once again by the image before her. He always thought of himself as being so disgusting, and yet, she though of him as absolutely perfect. Well, he would have been if he didn't have the bloody gashes marring his strong flesh. She still found it amazing that after all he had been through, and after all the battle wounds he had received, not a single scar was present on his tan skin. It looked like it had never seen a battle before, yet she knew from personal experience that this was far from the truth. She was rudely snapped back to reality from her mental worship of the man before her by the rough clearing of his voice before he snapped,

"Are you gonna do this or what? I ain't got all night."

"Of course I am! You could be a little more thankful you know. Most people wouldn't even go out of their way to do this."

"I know, and I'm glad that you care enough to even touch me." She was startled by his reply, for it had been whispered so quietly that she almost thought she imagined it.

She then started the long, silent, laborious process of swabbing his injuries with the hydrogen peroxide, making sure to be very gentle and to apply as little pressure as possible. She kneeled behind him shifting this way and that to reach his every wound at the best angle possible. She carefully examined his back, looking not only at the deep gashes that adorned it, but also the hard muscle that lay dormant beneath his tan plane of firm skin. She loved watching how it would ripple with even just the slightest movement. She then moved onto applying the anti-scarring cream, even though it was completely unnecessary. She did it because it gave her an excuse to touch him some more and caress magnificent creature that he was. She loved the contact she had with his body and wouldn't give it up if she had an excuse not to. She was almost done with his back when she became frustrated with the lack of conversation. He had been detached from the others all day and now he wouldn't even talk? Something must have been killing inside him if he wasn't even complaining about her treating his wounds. She decided to give it her best shot.

"So, you've been awfully quite today. Is there anything that you wanna talk about? You know, to get things off your chest?" she asked hopefully.

"Keh. If I wanted to talk to you, I would have said something a long time ago."

She should have known. He almost never opens up, and she understood that. It was his way of protecting himself. What he didn't know was that he didn't need to anymore. She would always be there for him to help protect and watch over him. He didn't have to protect himself alone anymore. She was there to help him. Of course, even if he did know that, he was too stubborn and proud to admit it or accept her help. They sat on in silence for a few moments before he suddenly asked,

"Do you really wanna know?"

She was so surprised that accidentally pressed a little too hard on one of his deeper gashes, resulting in his hiss of pain.

"Sorry! I'm sorry." she quickly apologized.

"It's ok. Don't worry about it." He ground out through gritted teeth.

She tried massaging the muscles around the wound in a silent apology, and she felt his stiff posture start to relax.

"I do by the way."

"Huh?" he lazily and groggily replied.

"I do want to know. It must be pretty important for you to have spent the entire day away from us." She said soothingly.

"I, well," he struggled before he took a deep breath and made the plunge.

"What happens now Kagome?"

She was so startled by his question that she stopped her gentle ministrations to his back. Did he really just ask what she though he did? She thought that it was obvious what the answer was; yet, it was a question that was on everyone's mind. She had to be sure that she was hearing correctly.

"What?"

"What happens now?" He whispered softly, afraid that she didn't want to talk about this. After all, during the time that they had known each other for, not once had this conversation ever arose.

"Well," she said slowly, "that really depends on you." She crawled around to face him and start on his chest. It was her favorite part of him to clean for obvious reasons, most of which were spawned from a more carnal desire. She absently wondered if there would ever be a time in her life when she could caress this vision of masculine beauty that sat before her with out the excuse of having wounds to tend to. The though of being able to run her fingers down the plane of heavenly hard, rippling muscle was absolutely sinful, and yet so very tempting.

"On me? How do you figure that?"

"Well, it really depends on what you want to do with the jewel. You could bring Kikyo back from the dead you know. You could give Kikyo her own soul, I would technically still have my soul since I come from a different time, but I would need to leave indefinitely. Then maybe the two of you could go and live the life you wanted before the whole Naraku incident."

Bring her back? Inuyasha had never though of it to be perfectly honest. She wouldn't want him to bring her back either. She wanted peace, not to chase after an old dream that could never be. No. That was something that he would not do. He honestly hadn't even thought about Kikyo for a long time. Not since the day she had died and the day he had been released from his promise to her. His only promise was to kill Naraku which he had succeeded in doing. He no longer had to go to hell with her, and truthfully, he was glad. It gave him the chance to stay with Kagome. Though, that was part of Kikyo's reasoning. She wanted him to stay behind and protect her and the jewel. She had hinted at her blessing of their possible union as well, which warmed his heart to no end, as well as his cheeks.

"No. She wouldn't want that. I don't want that. I want to move on with my life, not look back at my past mistakes."

"So then what are you going to do with it?" she asked curiously.

"Don't know."

"Then I don't know what happens now."

She went back to tending to his wounds oblivious to his internal turmoil. That hadn't been the answer he was looking for. But then again, he wasn't sure that she had any real idea as to what he wanted to know. Perhaps he should go about asking her in a different manner? How could he ask her without being obvious?

"So," he started hesitantly, "what are you planning on doing now that the quest is over?"

"Almost over." She quickly reminded him. "We still have to get rid of the jewel." She tried to say as nonchalantly as possible.

"But then what? What about after the jewel is gone?" There. He came out and said it. Suddenly Kagome found one of the shallower cuts on his chest incredibly fascinating. She kept going over it again and again... and refusing to answer him.

"Kagome?"

"I...don't know. I haven't really though about it." She hesitantly replied while keeping her head down and eyes trained on the cut.

She was lying. Her scent reeked of it. Why did she have to lie now? Was she ashamed of what she promised him so long ago? Did she think that he would force her to comply with her promise? That he would force her to stay here with him? Or maybe she had plans in her own time that didn't involve him. That required her to break her promise. Or maybe, maybe he had read into everything the wrong way. Maybe that kiss so long ago didn't mean anything to her like it did to him. Maybe she only did it to save a...friend. Maybe she really was just as repulsed by him as everyone else. He had to know. He slowly reached out a quivering hand to tilt her face towards his own so that he could look into her eyes. Those deep blue eyes that he could so easily get lost in if given the chance to.

"You're lying to me. Why?"

"It's not really all that important." She said in her sickeningly cheerful voice with her fake smile plastered to her face while trying to ignore the look he had in his eyes. It felt like he was trying penetrate her to look into her soul and very being. "Just this and that. But we don't have to worry about that for a while, do we?"

"No, I guess not." He replied a little dejectedly, as his normally erect and perky ears drooped slightly. She still wasn't telling him the whole truth and wasn't telling him what she wanted to do with herself.

"So, do you plan on going back to school full time?" he asked trying to keep his tone neutral

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I won't be needed here anymore so I guess I should start working on my future...in the future."

"So then does that mean you are going to stay there to live? In your time I mean."

"Yeah," she said slowly, while cleaning the final cut, still not seeing where this was going. His ears drooped a little more. He knew what he had to do. "I guess so. What's with the third degree?"

It's now or never. He had to ignore the churning feeling in his stomach and the nerves that were twisting together. He had to ignore the instinct to run. To run as far away as he could as fast as he could, which was pretty fast now due to his new powers. He needed to override this feeling that he should just keep on living life as he always had and not open himself up to the hurt that would follow when he asked her. But as much as he wanted to listen to these instincts, he knew that he couldn't. He needed her. He needed Kagome. He needed her like the air that he breathed. Like the Ramen he ate. She was his sun and moon. She was what made each day worth living. He had to know. He needed to know. He could do this. He would just get it over with quickly. Like taking off one of those Band-Aids that Kagome was always putting on him. They always hurt to take off, not that he would admit it, but in the end it was worth it and was best done quickly.

Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha asked with as much confidence as he could muster, "So then, do you want for me to go with you? To live with you in the future. It wouldn't be for that long, cause I could try and get something of my own someday, but I was hoping that maybe, maybe, we could give us a try? If you'll take me that is."

She gasped. It felt like time was standing still. She had wanted for him to say something like that for so long. She was so shocked by his words that she stopped cleaning his cut with her hand stilled on his stomach dangerously close to the ties of his hakama. Inuyasha, being paranoid, took her reaction the wrong way and rushed to explain his reasoning.

"I know that I might not be worth much here...but if I go to your time, maybe I could make something..." but before he could finish, he felt a pair of soft eager lips crushed against his own.

His eyes widened in shock. She was kissing him. She, was kissing, him. He had not expected her reaction to be quite like this. He had thought that she would want to talk, yell, run away in disgust, but not kiss him. This kiss was different from their first one in so many ways. This one was meant to silence him, not to free him from his demon side. This kiss was rough and passionate. It was demanding. He had never kissed like this before, it was just so different. He could feel her lips working against his own, massaging them and coaxing them into complying with her eager response. Who was he to deny the woman that he loved the simple act of a heated kiss? He loved the way that this felt. She thread her hands into his long mane of silver hair. He could feel the sight pinpricks form her nails digging into his sensitive scalp, keeping his head in place. It was absolutely heaven. He had wanted to feel this again for so very long. He had felt the growing need to kiss her again ever since that one day oh so very long ago. His heart had cried out for this. He felt his eyes slowly drift shut as the kiss consumed his every thought. They broke apart panting before he dived back in for more, not that Kagome was complaining. Even if she wanted too, her mouth was a little busy at the moment. His heart was racing as she started to turn the kiss into something more primal. Slowly parting her lips and running her tongue across his own. His eyes opened wide as he gasped at the foreign sensation, allowing her to slip her tongue into his mouth. He had always heard of this, but he himself had never partaken in such an act. He had no idea as to what to do next, and allowed Kagome to lead him through the sensual dual of muscle. She slowly started to explore his mouth, and eagerly traced his fangs. Inuyasha held his head very still out of fear for piercing her tongue with his deathly sharp fang. He slowly started to get the main idea and started to battle Kagome for dominance. It was a long battle, but Kagome eventually allowed him to win and granted him entrance into her mouth. He raised his trembling hands to place one around her waist and the other one gently on the back of her head. He moaned at the new and delicious feeling of this type of kissing. Kagome, pleased with his new found enthusiasm, grew tried of the distance between their bodies. Untangling one of her hands from his hair, she slowly lowered it to a part of the small of his back without any gashes. She made sure to take her time rubbing over the beautiful flesh of his back until she arrived at her destination. Kagome then crawled towards him until she was straddling his lap, while her other hand snuck up to his erect ear and stared to rub it. She moved her hand slowly and rhythmically up and down his fuzzy appendage. She brought he hand to the base of his ear before massaging her way up to the velvety soft tip at a painstakingly slow pace. Oh the feeling of someone rubbing his ears! He could feel warmth pooling in the pit of his stomach. It...felt...so...good. Oh so good. Too good. It had to stop. Now.

He abruptly pulled away from her panting, worried that if this didn't stop soon, not only would she suffocate, but he would do something that she might later regret doing with him. He had distanced himself from her for two years and he wasn't about to throw all of his precautions away just like that. He was better then that. She deserved more then just a wild tryst on the grass of the feudal era, so much more. He wanted to take things slow with her, to give her every possible chance to back out before he took her as his own.

He looked at her flushed face and panting body. He couldn't help but feel a little male pride that he made her look like that. She was panting because of what he did to her. Then he looked into her eyes and saw the worry that she held with in them. The uncertainty that she had done something wrong. He had to explain to her, she had to know why he pulled away from her.

After his breathing evened out, he took her face into his hands, gently cupping it to make sure that he was looking into her eyes when he talked to her.

"I take it that you want me to go with you." He said stating what he hoped was the obvious, and was encouraged when she attempted to nod her head yes.

Noticing how hard it was to do this, she opted to simply make her answer vocal and simply said, "Yeah. But, did I do something? And... how are you going to manage living there? You need stuff like birth certificates and medical documents...basically a really long paper trail."

"No," he started after gathering his thoughts, which were a little scattered due to the kisses that they had just shared. A tinge of pink adorned his strong cheek bones, "you didn't do anything wrong. I just...well...I wanted to make sure that I understood what that meant is all. That and... I didn't want for things to go too far, too fast. I want to take things slow. I don't want to rush you into anything. I want you to be sure you would want...that...before anything happened. Trust me when I say that things would have gone beyond just kissing if we kept that up, and I don't think that we are ready for that. There is a reason as to why I didn't want you to rub my ears for the last two years. I...your...your first time should be special, not on the dirty floor here. You deserve so much more then that. Besides...there is always chance that you could get pupped, and I don't want for you to feel forced to be with me." He finished with a blush so deep and red that it rivaled that of any marker company's back in her time.

Kagome thought that it was absolutely the sweetest thing that he could have done. He put aside his own pleasure in favor of a brighter future with her. He didn't want for her to feel forced to couple with him. He wanted for their first time to be special, and for her to feel ready. He wanted for her to be absolutely sure before they did anything. How could any man possibly be any sweeter then Inuyasha was acting at this moment? She thought that it would be very hard to find that man. That's just another reason as to why she loves him so much. She wanted to kiss him again so much for this last kiss had sparked a flame in her that refused to go away, yet, she didn't want to push things too far either. She settled for simply turning her head to nuzzle his left hand while placing a tender kiss in his palm. It was her little way of telling him that she understood and agreed without any words.

Inuyasha understood her silent gesture and it gave him the needed strength to continue with the conversation.

"Sesshomaru came to me today after that battle with Naraku. He, well, he made an offer. I think that he views me as an equal or something like that. He said he `was impressed that a lowly hanyou like myself could defeat that which he could not'. Keh. Doesn't really matter as long as he knows who he's messing with." He said glowing with all the male pride that he had from within himself and Kagome couldn't help but smile at how silly he looked with that ridiculous grin on his face. She liked it. She thought that he needed to smile more often.

"So, what did he say?" she asked prodding him on in a teasing manner.

"I'm getting there woman."

"Mmmm...your woman." She whispered into the palm of his hand, ignoring the blush that reappeared on his cheeks with a vengeance.

Clearing his throat and dropping his hands to hold onto her own, he continued as if he had never heard her. "As I was saying, he wants a truce. He doesn't want someone as powerful as myself to be an opposing force to him and the Western Lands, so he came up with a treaty of some sort. What do you think the chances are of him being dead 500 years from now? I think that they are slim to none. Demons more then likely found a way to hide their characteristics, and therefore became forgotten in your time. Don't forget that we did see two demons on your side of the well before too. The Noah Mask and the Soul Piper? I would be willing to bet the Tetsusaiga that he is still alive in your time. He said that he would make it so that I can live in your time with you, if I choose to follow you there. I have been thinking about how to ask you about it all day. It sounds like he will make a `paper trail' for me. What do you think? Should I accept?" he finished hopefully.

She could tell by the look in his eyes that nothing would make him happier then to tell him to accept Sesshomaru's proposal. She could tell that he wanted to be with her. But there were still a few questions that needed to be answered first.

"What about an education? Would you be given one so that you are more familiar with the time?"

"Yeah. He said it might take some time but he would bring me up to speed. He told me that I also have a lot of money that my father left behind for me after his death. Sesshomaru has been...watching after it for me. He said that he will do what he thinks is best for it in the future, and when the times comes, he will hand it over to me when he thinks that I can manage it on my own."

"Good. I am glad to hear it." She said with a happy smile on her face. It was high time that her Inuyasha received what was his and was treated with the respect that he deserved.

"What about the others? Shippo, and soon to be newlyweds. I don't want to lose them. I want them to stay in our lives."

"We could talk to them. See if they want to come and live in your time. If nothing else, then we could just not purify the jewel for a long time. What do you think?"

"I think that could work." She said while stroking the base of his thumb with her own before asking the question that was burning to be asked.

"Inuyasha, how do you feel about me?"

How did he feel about her? That was unexpected. He thought that he made it very clear as to how he felt. She was a goddess, the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. Benzaiten* paled in comparison. Every time he looked at her watching the sunset, or standing in the rain, letting it caress her body, he swore his heart stopped. He loved it when she smiled giving him her special smile, the smile that she used for him and him alone. It calmed and reassured him. It made him think that maybe in the end, everything would be all right. That things would work out in their favor, and they did. When she laughed he felt his whole mood improve and his spirits rise. She made him want to laugh and laugh with her. He always hated it when she left for her time. He felt this longing ache in his heart when she was gone and an inexplicable sense of loss. She was his everything. He needed her. He needed Kagome to be with him always. He loved her.

Flushing and looking down, his bangs covered his eyes as he chewed on his lower lip. He gathered the courage he needed to say point blank, "I love you. I love you Kagome, with all that I am. I need to be with you all the time because when I'm not, I feel dead inside."

Now he could only pray that she loved him too. That she wouldn't be scared off by his open admission of love. It was one thing to kiss a hanyou. It was another to love a hanyou.

His prayers were answered.

"Good. Because I love you too."

He felt as if his heart would explode from happiness. She loved him too. He didn't know how to respond, so he leaned forward and placed a gentle and sweet chaste kiss on her lips. This kiss wasn't as demanding or passionate as their first kiss had been. This one was filled with all of the love that he felt for her and the happiness that he felt at that moment. Tilting his head to rest his forehead on her own, he whispered, "Anything else you wanna ask?"

"Mmhmm. Just one more thing. What about us? You...will live much longer then I will. I... I don't want to have to leave you. I know that you are already a couple of centuries old, and I will barely live to be 100. Do you think, that maybe, we could use the jewel to lengthen my life?"

Inuyasha pulled away from her head, startled by the question. He had thought that they might have this particular discussion later. Once things had become more serious between them. Not so soon after deciding that they could become...something. He thought that in her time, they were now considered a `dating couple' and the she was now officially his `girlfriend', but those questions still normally came after at least awhile of `dating'. Then again, maybe her question had startled him because he thought that Sango would have told her about the Inu yokai ways of mating. He was sure that the subject would have come up after awhile during one of their many trips to the hot springs. Well...there was no time like the present to inform her of what she might one day be getting into.

"Kagome, I am gonna assume that you know nothing about the Inu yokai mating rituals, and how we claim a mate...er...mark a mate so that others know who they are mated to." He stared with his blush returning full force. "When two yok...if we were to mate, we would have to, consume each others blood. It will be absorbed into our system and into your organs, blood, everything really. Not only would it connect you to me on a much deeper level, but it will also lengthen your life span to that of my own. We don't need to use the jewel to make your life span as long as my own."

"Really?" she said curiously. "How and when is it done?"

"W...well, we consume the blood by biting each other during...well...when we, you know." He said, his blush deepening in color.

She had to giggle at how shy he was. "You mean we have to bite each other when we make love?"

"Yeah," he whispered, "the mark will leave a visible scar to tell other demons that you are my mate. They will also be able to tell just by your scent because the blood bond will make your smell more like me."

Now he just knew that she was going to get scared of him. He would be turning her into a monster. He just knew that she would get scared and repulsed and would run away.

"Cool."

But then again, this was Kagome, and it took a lot to scare her.

He smiled saying, "Yeah, you would think that something like that was `cool'. We should talk to the others before I go back to Sesshomaru, no?"

"Yeah. That would be good. Let me wrap you up."

 She happily went back to the task that she had first set out to do, finding the abandoned first aid kit. She unrolled the bandages and took advantage of their new status to teasingly brush her fingers across his chest wherever there wasn't a gash. She was even able to sneak in the occasional chaste kiss on his chest and shoulders. Not once did he complain. He blushed a lot, but said nothing to stop her. She had wanted to do that for so long. She tied up the bandages and disappointedly watched as he put his kasode and haori back on. She was puzzled though when he took out the Tetsusaiga and hoisted it back onto his shoulder. She had to admit that he was quite attractive like that, but that didn't change the fact that he was standing there on the defensive for no reason.

"Inuyasha? Won't you come back to camp with me?" she tentatively asked standing up and walking over to him and resting her hand on his unoccupied shoulder from behind.

"The jewel is complete. There will be others who will seek it out. I don't want for you to be hurt because I was careless."

"Inuyasha," she tentatively said walking around to face him as she gently placed her hand on the hand holding the massive swords hilt "hasn't anyone ever told you there is safety in numbers?"

"Huh?"

"Come back to camp. We can protect each other now. Besides, I don't want to sleep with a small demon in my sleeping bag tonight," she leaned in towards his ears whispering and referring to Shippo. "I wanna sleep with a strong half demon." His ears were standing stalk still making sure he got every word.

"You know what? I think you're right," he happily replied as they both took the weight off his shoulder.

The (very sweet) End