Author's Note: Wow, Christmas is really filled with miracles! I've updated in a matter of days. I'm so proud of myself. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. My goal was to make it long, but I felt I should end the chapter where it is. It's a little bit longer than the recent chapters, so enjoy! I tried to add in a little bit more comedy to lighten up the mood of this fic. Thanks everyone who reviewed, and faved.

Title: Never Forgotten

Author: cherimai

Chapter: Marking

Posted On: December 28, 2009

"What do you mean you haven't done it yet?"

Tension filled the air between two brothers, who were connected by the same father. The walls were filled with hundreds of books, dated way back in centuries. The grandfather clock ticked, and tock out loud, causing the half-demon brother's ears to flinch in reflex. The royal purple carpet spread out the floor evenly and perfectly. The room was polished, and cleaned leaving no hint of dust anywhere that was visible to the human eye. Amber and golden eyes starred at each other, as if competing with each other.

The voice that spoke was calm and cool. It belonged to the taller, young man who embodied everything success. He was dressed in a casual silver/white Armani suit that went along with his long gleaming mane. His golden eyes striking and the moonlight fell onto his face, making the markings on his face seem even more appealing. He was the first and proud son of InuTaisho and his deceased mother.

Sesshoumaru Takahashi.

InuYasha, his younger half brother, stood a meter across from him. The hanyou's eyes shift to the ground, clearly embarrassed and frustrated. He had always been in Sesshoumaru's shadow. His older brother always came home with straight A's, got accepted at the University of Tokyo, and had established a successful business at the tender age of twenty. Talk about a tough act to follow up.

"Don't tell me you are still having doubts," he cocked a perfectly shaped eyebrow. He stood tall, and confident with his arms crossed. He was never once spotted with bad posture. Ever. "It's better if you do it soon. The marking ritual isn't something to be taken lightly."

The defeated brother sighed out loud, with his hands in his pockets. He was surprisingly not uttering a response at all.

Silence.

"InuYasha, let me clearly remind you. No one forced you into making any of these decisions. It was you who chose to court her, then to propose. All we asked were for you to make the right decision." He furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought we had an understanding."

Not being able to withstand being lectured anymore, InuYasha replied. "I just don't feel the time is right yet."

The older brother now sighed, and turned around to face the windows that led to his own balcony.

"I guess it's better to realize this now, than later."

"SESSHOUMARU WHERE ARE YOU?!" A threatening feminine voice shouted down the hallways.

Kagura, his wife of a few centuries, marched in, clad in a black Prada business suit. With one hand on her hip, and the other holding on to her beloved Blackberry, she hissed at him. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Don't you remember we have a business dinner to attend to?" Her sleek black hair was tied into a neat bun, as always. (It was even rumored to still be in a bun, when things got... intimate.) There has never been a time when a hair was out of place.

Her husband didn't say anything nor bothered to turn around. He was used to it by now, after dealing with his wife's ranting for the past hundreds of years. Sadly, it has become part of his life style.

A child of about seven came running in crying with a stuff teddy clinging on her right arm. "MOMMY, DADDY are you guys fighting again?!" Innocent little tears started forming from the corner of her delicate eyes. She was the adopted human daughter of Sesshoumaru and Kagura. Her name was Rin.

InuYasha watched in amusement. The great Sesshoumaru Takahashi, possibly one of the most wanted man on the planet, yet chained down by his estranged wife and daughter. He smirked at the scene before him, and watched as Kagura dragged her husband by his ears, and holding little Rin's hand in the other one.

"Good day, InuYasha." Kagura muttered while passing him. Sesshoumaru winced in pain by his 'loving' wife's grasp. He then whispered to his brother, "Better to realize now, than later."

The sky was grey. The buildings were grey. The streets were grey. To add sprinkle to this beautiful scenery, it was raining.

"What depressing weather." InuYasha growled to his best friend Miroku. They were on a little coffee break together after work.

"So tell me ALL about it. Did she enjoy it? Did she scream in pain? I do wonder since Kikyo seem to be uptight all the time, I don't think I have ever seen her shed a tear!" The lecherous man had been bombarding him with non-stop questions since meeting up with him. InuYasha then regretted his decision; it was a terrible idea from the start.

He continued to ignore him, occupying himself by repeatedly stirring his cup of hot mocha. He watched as the whip cream melted and chocolate sprinkles mixed with the liquid, creating interesting swirls.

"How did you mark her? Is it like a half crescent moon like Kagura's? Or were you a little more rough with her and left two bite marks?"

InuYasha was getting frustrated with everyone reminding him of his duties.

The demon marking was a ceremony that was suppose to take on the official night of their bonding. The demon partner was supposed to leave a small bite mark at the nape of their significant other's neck. It was to ensure the partner were theirs forever, no other demon may go near them. The difference between the human and demon ceremony was the idea of separation. In the human world, couples are allowed to divorce, but in the demon world, forever really meant forever. Humans represent their relationship with a rings, and demons with markings. The mark was a strong bond, that is unbreakable. It was a once in a life time thing, and could not be undone.

That was what InuYasha is afraid of. Forever. He wasn't so sure if Kikyo was the one he wanted to spend forever with. Thinking back on Sesshoumaru's marriage to Kagura, he couldn't see himself and Kikyo together years from now.

"I actually haven't marked her yet." InuYasha said, finally deciding to answer his best friend. He took a sip of his drink, which was too hot at the moment.

Miroku was speechless for awhile, he didn't utter a word and InuYasha was glad he had shut him up.

In a split second, the hanyou found his perverted friend seated by his side with a stupid grin plastered on his face. He found himself scooting away, as if his friend had some sort of infectious disease. The violet eyed man patted him quite hard on the back a few times (causing him to accidentally spit out his drink), "My, my InuYasha, I never knew you had it in you! Quite a smart thinker, my friend."

Huh? The hanyou looked at him questionably. "What the hell are you talking about Miroku?!?" The other man looked at him as if InuYasha was lying. "Playing innocent huh? It's okay it's a secret between us two, man-to-man." He gave his friend a wink, sending shivers down InuYasha's spine. The man grinned cheekily at his embarrass friend. "The reason why you didn't official 'mark' Kikyo as yours is so you can have both of them. Kikyo and Kagome at once, without being 'officially' bond to Kikyo." The hanyou sweat dropped, he knew he should never have taken Miroku seriously…

In a typical InuYasha-fashion, he left the café after making sure Miroku was unconscious, and left a very nice, big, 'mark' on his head.

There, he marked someone.

Closing the door shut behind him, he walked in the house that he now shares with his new wife.

The rooms were dark, and candle lights flickered throughout the rooms. He entered the kitchen, witnessing Kikyo sitting patiently at the other end of the table, waiting for him. He bit his lips guiltily, having made her wait so long for him. Amber eyes scanned the table to see a simple home-cooked dinner that consists of rice, salmon, a vegetable dish, and miso soup (his fav!). Kikyo wasn't the greatest cook in the world, and it was actually very rare when she offered to cook dinner. She tends to get caught up in her work so often, which was one of the reasons why InuYasha was surprise to find her home so early. He took a seat across from her, apologizing for the delay.

She smiled gently at him.

"I figured since we are husband and wife now that we should try to make more time for each other. I didn't want you to be hungry so I fixed us up a quick dinner."

The rest of the dinner was quiet, but it was different this time. There was a warm atmosphere around them, something that has not happen in a long time. Golden eyes reached over to warm brown eyes. He walked over to her, kneeled and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Kikyo."

Her response was only to kiss him in return, igniting an intense passion between them that lacked on their honey moon.

Eventually he was carrying her to their bedroom. Closing the door to their bedroom with his foot, his last thought was, "I will mark her tonight."

Note: Don't kill me cause of the ending of this chapter. We shall see what happens.. hehehe. Happy New Years everyone!