Chapter 22

Inuyasha sighed when he heard their companions stirring. He kissed Kagome's forehead softly. "Oi, time to wake, little mate," he murmured.

"Hm?" Kagome opened bleary eyes. "A couple more minutes?" she asked hopefully, nuzzling into his chest and drawing his haori more securely around her.

Inuyasha smirked, running a hand through her hair. "That cute look's never gonna work on me, Kagome," he told her.

She smiled, glancing up at him. "Well... what about this?" she leaned up, tentatively pressing her lips against his, moaning when he responded. His arms wrapped around her, making the haori slide off, not that she minded.

He pulled back, gazing at her with love. It made her heart speed up. "A couple more minutes," he chuckled, kissing her once more.

"Inuyasha," she struggled to pout, laughing instead as he trailed kisses along her cheek down to her neck. "I can't-" Her words got caught up in her throat as he nipped the skin.

"The time's mine, Ka-go-me," he breathed, giving her all his attention. He couldn't believe that Kagome returned his feelings. With each touch, he was assured that he would always be with her- in the way he wanted.

Her hands shakily curled around his neck to pull him closer as her eyes fluttered close. "Inuyasha," she sighed, a soft smile playing on her lips as she stared into his eyes. Their lips barely brushed, content to just be close to one another. "I should have realized sooner," she murmured, pressing their lips together for a short moment. "I'm sorry..."

She felt his fingers brush her cheek as he kissed her deeply, his tongue sweeping across her bottom lip. She didn't need to apologize. He had her now and that was all that mattered.

A chuckle reached his ears and Inuyasha pulled away, glaring at Miroku as he shamelessly looked. Shippo perched on his shoulder, a dash of pink staining his cheeks as he smiled bashfully.

"'The hell are you looking at?' he growled, holding his mate close when she shifted uncomfortably.

"Leave them alone," Sango said, tugging Miroku inside by his ear. "Um, just to let you know, we plan to leave for Miroku's temple soon," she told them before closing the door behind her.

"Well, now they know," Kagome muttered, hiding her flushing face in his chest.

Sighing, Inuyasha nuzzled her hair. "Is that bad?" he asked, his ears drooping at the thought.

She shook her head. "It's just... different," she looked up at him, smiling helplessly. "You know I never had a boyfriend..."

He reflected her smile, squeezing her affectionately. She would have no idea how much that meant to him. "Come on, we oughta get ready to go." Helping her stand, he accepted his haori back as they walked back inside the room.

Shippo's fluffy tail wagged once as they came in. "You two made up?"

Kagome blushed but nodded, smiling. Everything was alright for now.

Naraku sighed in distaste as he received his reports for the day. His secretary, Kagura, kept notice of everything that went on outside the building, mostly the outdoor subjects. He assigned her to look after Kagome without being caught.

It seemed that Kikyou left all the work to the wolf. He snorted at that, knowing she couldn't get any work done by herself with her fragile body. But the wolf was unreliable; barely released out into the world. Didn't she know that?

He'd make sure she'd face the repercussions of her own actions, along with a punishment when she came back. For now, he needed to get Subject 643 back.

Pressing a button on the intercom, he intoned, "Kagura. Send out Bankotsu. We need 643's illusions out of the picture before we can take her back. Jakotsu will be assigned with actually catching the girl- alive."

"Yes, sir..."

"Also, call Kikyou back in. She has certain services to fulfill here."

"It's hard feeling in danger when there's no one chasing you," Kagome murmured as she licked her ice cream cone. Shippo sure came in handy with his invisible sneaky fingers.

Inuyasha snorted at that, "You don't have any worries because I'm here." Which was true. Kagome didn't feel threatened, but something was off and it was driving him crazy. Gold eyes glanced around anxiously around the busy streets, ready to fight if need be.

"Yep," she agreed, completely unaware of Inuyasha's senses going was danger ahead, but it felt different than before.

Shippo bounced off Kagome's shoulder, clinging to Inuyasha's sleeve. "Something wrong, Inuyasha?" The kit's stare was worrying, catching Kagome's attention.

"What is it?" she asked, concerned. Of course, the two humans in front of them had to stop as well to see what was going on.

"It's nothing," he answered gruffly. There was no point in alarming them if it wasn't true. It could be that this was his first time being in a crowded space, constantly running into people and forgetting that he isn't an apparition anymore. That could be plausible.

Shippo had reluctantly turned away, but Kagome persisted. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." His heart did that strange thing again- it felt like it jumped and flipped in his ribcage. Since this morning, it was all he could do not to kiss her once more, to solidify what felt like a dream. She finally figured him out and he never felt more alive. Inuyasha kept his elation to himself- for now- and led Kagome forward once more.

Miroku had said that the temple wasn't far from where they were. What he failed to mention was that if it was isolated or not. It was too risky to camp out in a place with people visiting day in and day out, not to mention stupid.

His senses alerted him once more, making him tense. What is this feeling?

Kagome's gasp did well to bring his attention back to reality. "Kouga?"

Inuyasha followed her sight, growling the instant he saw him. The man that got closest to his Kagome. "What's he doing here?" he muttered disdainfully.

Miroku glanced between the girl and the stranger. "Kagome, I don't think it's wise to-"

"Kagome? Is that you?" Kouga spotted her and walked toward her, a wide smile on his face. "I was wondering where you went. Why are you here?"

Inuyasha quickly stepped between them, giving the male a hard glare. There was some satisfaction now that he could be seen. "Get lost," he growled.

Kagome grimaced at Inuyasha's back, remembering how jealous he got of any boy that got close. "Inuyasha..." she began worriedly, peering over his shoulder.

Kouga met the half-demon's gaze coolly. "Who the hell are you?"

He was the one. The danger he had been sensing all this time- it was originating from Kouga. Inuyasha couldn't contain his wild growl as he pushed Kagome behind him, keeping her from sight. She was his and nobody could take her away from him anymore.

Sango edged close to them, cautiously aware of Inuyasha's growing ire. "I'm sorry, sir, but we're in a bit of a hurry," she told the stranger, frowning at him. "If you would please...?"

"Who are all these people, Kagome?" Kouga leered, completely ignoring Sango and the threat in front of him.

"K-Kouga, I..." Kagome hesitated as she attempted to step beside her half-demon. What could she say? She obviously couldn't tell him the truth. But how could she explain herself? "What are you doing here?" she replied instead, turning the question on him.

He wasn't to be caught off guard. "My family and I had to move back to our old home. There was some... family complications." Ice blue eyes turned soft. "I kinda missed you, Kagome."

She felt her cheeks grow warm at the confession. To be honest, she missed him too. She also missed waking up to her annoying alarm clock, talking with her friends openly, her school, even the pile of homework. But she knew she couldn't return to that life, at least, not any time soon. "Things came up," she smiled uneasily, slipping her hand in Inuyasha's to, hopefully, calm him down.

Inuyasha's tension slowly faded as he laced their fingers together, but he still stood a threat to Kouga's health. Now that he could actually do something about it, no male will lay his dirty hands on her. "Get lost," he growled.

Kouga narrowed his eyes. "Out of the way, dogbreath."

Growling, Inuyasha flexed his claws. "You know what I am," he stated. Before he could do anything, Kouga landed a solid punch to the half-demon's face, sending him back and ripping Kagome away from him.

"K-Kouga!" Kagome shrieked at the sudden action, freezing when she felt talons underneath her chin. "Wh-what are you...?"

The wolf disregarded her, his eyes on her companions. "Just try to follow me. I've been given orders to bring her back dead or alive. I won't mind getting a little blood on my claws..."

"Bastard," Inuyasha snarled, his eyes flickering red.

Kouga chuckled. "See ya." He grabbed Kagome and ran, his demonic speed unparalleled as he jumped onto buildings, ignoring the pedestrians' stare and Kagome's screaming.

Inuyasha was about to follow him but Miroku held him back. "What are you doing? We have to go after him!" he yelled, his heart racing as Kagome's scream faded in the distance.

"He'll hurt Kagome if we give chase," Miroku reasoned. "We know where he's going, we just have to track him down."

The half-demon growled in frustration, feeling his rage bubbling under the surface. Then he realized something. Where was Shippo?

A/N: Oh, this chapter was painful to write. As I explained in my profile and to some of you that PM-ed me, the vacation I took knocked me off this story really badly and I was unable to catch up. I'm terribly sorry for the long wait- probably even the wait for the next chapter as well. I'm just out of focus for this story at the moment.

Warm-Amber92: We'll see about that :)

Dwarg91: My Kouga's always worse than the original. I hate that character, so he's always a villain.

okiedokeybunny: So sorry! I wouldn't have left if I could, and if I knew how bad it would affect me.

Opalbrat & Jemzet A Heart Broken Angel & FridayzGirl & inuyashaloverxox15: Thank you, kindly.

Dark Shining Light: Do your homework, kid T-T Then you'll be able to go to college and get successful while I'm stuck writing fanfics *totally serious *

alexischic: Guess I should return the mokomoko-sama back to you ;_; I don't deserve it! But I'm keeping the box!

vampireinu95: Oh, they're together alright. And Kouga is a shapeshifter of sorts. More will be explained in the future about him.

3lue 3utterfly: Sorry you waited so long :/

ForeverxWeird: Don't worry, I was later than you :P

HopelessRomantic183: Well, he ran off with her, so we can cross that out!

LicoriceSpice: Thank you so much! I'm sorry you had to wait.

Flare the Hedgehog: What love triangle? All I see is InuKag and a fading attraction between KouKag *shrugs *

Also, to help the muse, I joined in roleplaying on Tumblr. To interact with my Inuyasha, follow the link in my profile. Seriously, make his life hell.

See you all the next time I see you.

FxA