"Damnit!" An enraged hanyou yelled across the clearing. Sango was flown across the field and hit a tree, rendering her unconsious."Sango!" The worried husband of the demon slayer ran over and sat her up."Are you alright?" She gave no response, but her head slumped down and blood trickled down her mouth. "Miroku! Get her out of here! Take Kagome, Shippou, and Kirara with you!" Inuyasha ordered. "No!" A defiant miko defended. "I'm staying with you! Miroku, you take Shippou and Kirara with you two!" He obeyed Kagome, loading Sango onto a transformed Kirara. As soon as Shippou jumped on, the demon cat took off into the sky to find safety.

The group was traveling from village to village, killing demons to earn money for a long trip to the other side of Japan. Two days ago they were attacked by a group of high ranked demons, weakening the six of them. Right now they were fighting a lesser lion demon, which showed no mercy. Normally Inuyasha wouldn't even break a sweat killing a demon like this, but the skirmish a while back left him in bad shape. Kagome was in a better condition with only a few scratches, cuts, and bruises here and there. And it was only thanks to a very protective half demon. "Inuyasha, behind you!" He whipped around, only to get a claw in the face and Tessaiga knocked out of his hands.

He was pushed to the ground, sliding across rocks and dirt until he came to a halt, blood dripping from his face and chest. "Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, a gut-wrenching feeling coming over her. "Inuyasha!" His body lay still, no movement or breathing coming from him at all. Before her brain even registered what was happening, the lion demon grabbed Kagome by the neck, suspending the helpless girl in the air. She tried to squirm out of its grasp, but to no avail. Each tiny movement dug his claws in deeper. One nail punctured through her neck, and blood started to seep out. On the other side of the clearing, the scent of her blood hit Inuyasha's nose. Mate hurt. Save mate.He wasn't sure where that thought came from, but he was keen to follow it.

As he stood up, he felt power begin to pulse through his veins, giving him strength. The purple marks on his cheeks appeared first, then his golden orbs transformed into red with the turquiose pupils. His claws were traded off for sharper ones, along with his fangs. Hurry. Save mate.

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, preparing to see the blackness, but it never came. She was slammed down onto the dirt, causing a jolt of pain to ripple through her body. Managing to open her eyes, she watched as Inuyasha ripped the youkai's throat out, stabbing through its jugular with his claws. Wait, his claws? Where did he leave Tessaiga? "Inuyasha..." Kagome squeezed out, trying to get his attention. His ear twitched, and hearing his "mate" call him, the now full demon Inuyasha dropped the lion demon's dead body, and rushed over to her. Lifting her almost limp body, he began to look for a safe place to take care of her. "Mate hurt." He growled. "Inuyasha, i'm okay, don't worry." He glanced down at her,his eyes flashing red. "Mate hurt." He snarled this time, running faster. Kagome was terrified, to the point where she started to shiver.

She had seen first hand what he could do, and it was horrific. Feeling the waves of anxiety coming off of her, Inuyasha hurried to a nearby cave, on the border of a hectic village. He jumped in, and dropped down onto the stone floor, Kagome in his lap. Sniffing the air, his throat suppressed another growl. "Inu?" "Mate first, killing second." What? What does that mean?" He began to lick her neck, pulling her up. The blood started to wash off, and her wounds started to feel better. Against her will, and more out of pure fear, she snuggled against his kimono, and tried to relax. Maybe if she acted normal he would decide not to kill her. His licking trailed down to her collarbone, which made Kagome feel just A LITTLE more uncomfortable. Inuyasha, sensing her fear, sat her up and looked into her eyes, once again sending shivers down her body. "What making mate scared?" He tilted his head and an ear twitched, and if he wasnt a demonic killing machine, Kagome would call it "cute." "Um, nothing. It's okay." "Mate should'nt lie." He stared at her, concerned. "You really want to know?" He grunted, which she took as a "yes." She didn't want to admit it...she really didn't want to admit it, but... "It's you. I've seen you kill, and it makes me afraid-" "Mate no afraid. No hurt mate. Mate precious." "Mate...precious?" "Yes. Mate mine. Mate no be scared."

He tried to talk to her in a gentle tone, but hidden in the back was a deep rumble. "Um...okay." When she gave a verbal response, he returned to licking her neck. She noticed that he kept coming back to a certain point with his tongue, and it reminded her of something she read in a book of ancient demon myths and tales. When a male demon was about to mark his mate he would lick a point on his soon to be mate's neck until it became tender. He would then proceed to sink his fangs in, drawing blood and giving some back, basically a swap. From that point on, that certain spot would radiate with his scent, letting other demons know she was taken, and warning them that if they touched her, they would hear from him personally. Wait...he's not gonna...oh kami.

"Inu...mate?" "Hm?""You're not going to-" She was cut off when his fangs punctured into her neck. She gasped, but surprisingly, it didn't hurt. She felt a warm feeling spread across her body, and from her waist below she felt like jello. The hanyou turned youkai removed his fangs, and purred his contentment to her. He closed his eyes and and quicker than a flaash, the youkai's eyes returned to normal and he tipped over from confusion to the floor. He blinked rapidly, refocusing his vision. "Inuyasha?" A familiar face loomed above him. "K-Kagome?" "Are you alright?" "I should be asking you that! How did we get here?" He jolted upright, his head whipping around. "Shh...it's alright, you brought me here." "W-What?" "You transformed into a full demon when the lion demon attacked you." The now hanyou's eyes dialated, his pupils growing so big it almost looked like it came from a horror film. "A-Are you hurt?" "No, i'm fine. You killed the demon and protected me..." Her hand trailed up to the bite mark on her neck, and she ran her thumb over it, making an attempt to hide the signature that changed her name to "mate." "What's wrong?" Inuyasha studied her closely in concern. "It's really nothing, just a little bug bite on my neck." 'Let me see." He reached forward to remove her hand from the 'bug bite" and take a look, but she scooted back out of his reach. "I told you, it's fine. Don't worry about it." "Come on, just let me have a look. Please?" Inuyasha NEVER said please, and that meant he was severely curious, or worried sick about her.

"Okay, i'll show you, but promise not to freak out." "Keh!" "Promise?" "Fine. I promise." Kagome moved next to him, and slowly, never taking her eyes off of the half demon, put her hand in her lap and watched his reaction. Instantly his eyes widened, his hands balled into fists and a growl escaped from his clenched jaw. "Don't tell me... I did that?" "Mhmm." Kagome now stared down at the floor, not choosing to look up. Inuyasha, on the other hand, darted his eyes back and forth between her neck and the floor, deciding he didn't deserve to see straight. As a matter of fact, he didn't deserve anything. Or anyone. And definentaly not Kagome. But his bastard self marked her, which meant the poor woman was stuck with his sorry ass. "K-Kagome?" He dared to say her name. Head still down and voice shaking, she responded quietly. "Yes?" "I'm sorry." "I understand. Don't worry. This doesn't change anything between us. In fact, just pretend it didn't happen! You can go find the girl you ACTUALLY love and mark her..." He stared at her as if she had three eyes. "Kagome..." His mind stopped working at one thought. "But I do love you!" Inuyasha blurted out suddenly. "You don't have to lie to me you know. I told you already. IT'S FINE." "I'm not lying to you, I chose you a long time ago! Didn't my demon side show you that?!"

She sat in silence now, looking at the tree outside the cave as if it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. The young Miko didn't know what to say, let alone think. Inuyasha turned and put his back to her, ears drooping low and bangs covering his eyes. "Kagome, I love you..." He almost cried out, but instead it came out barely above a whisper. Before he knew what was happening, a crying Kagome jumped onto his back and reached her head over his shoulder to look at him. "Inuyasha, i've always loved you!" Tears slid down her cheeks and dropped onto his kimono, leaving their marks of mixed emotions. Kagome crawled over to the front of her hanyou, moving the bangs from his face and flashing him a comforting smile. "Don't you think we should get back to the others, mate?" His ears raised up at the name "mate" and his eyes met hers. "M-Mate?" "Yes Inuyasha, mate." "Does that mean-"

"That i'll have your pups and make a home with you? Of course!" Inuyasha felt like someone just lifted a three ton weight off his shoulders. He jumped up, grabbing her bridal style in the process. He then went dashing out of the cave into the sunshine, a smiling Kagome in his arms. She accepted him for who he was, so they would start a new life together, one step at a time.

FIN

A.N.- I really apologize for not posting in so long! I've written and typed so many stories but I don't think they're worthy of a post... And for everyone who had been following my story Partners for Life, I probably won't continue it. (Unless you guys have any ideas for me :3) Feel free to message me with a request for a story. And do you want a sequel to this one? Let me know!

Tomorrow is forever-

cherrystar5555