Full Blood

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Author’s Note: I am so sorry for the delay in updates. I had a few deaths in my family, one particular death that I took extremely hard, but now I’m getting back into the action and I hope that the next update will not be as long.

Thanks for the reviews catt, mia, ergo, azurephoenix, chanda, chickadee01, and Rei!

Full Blood
Chapter Three: The Consequences of the Mark

‘…Oh my god…’

Kagome lowered her hands, the red kimono sliding through her fingers and gliding down to the ground at her and Inuyasha’s feet. Her heart had never beaten so strong, and yet at the same time, her body had never felt so weak. Kagome’s hands shot forward, grabbing on to the off-white haori that Inuyasha still wore, afraid that her legs were going to eventually give out on her. She let Inuyasha kiss her and did not yet return it, afraid that it would shatter this moment that she had waited for so long.

‘Is this…really happening?’

Kikyo had always been an equation in their relationship. It had always been her first, and then Kagome. It was almost impossible for her mind to grasp on to the fact that finally, she wasn’t being placed second anymore in Inuyasha’s mind. Finally, Kagome seemed to have taken that place in Inuyasha’s heart that Kikyo had coveted for so long.

It felt so damn good to finally best that woman at something.

Inuyasha released one of Kagome’s arms, his free hand soon settling behind Kagome’s neck and tangling his clawed fingers into her long ebony strands. He grasped on to her hair tightly and deepened the kiss, forcing his tongue in-between of Kagome’s lips. Inuyasha’s tongue stroked Kagome’s, making the pit of her stomach begin to boil with desire.

Finally…’

Kagome moaned against Inuyasha’s mouth, letting her tongue move against Inuyasha’s in a sparring match that began gentle enough, but soon escalated into something more and more heated as they allowed it to go on. Inuyasha’s tongue began to slyly retreat out of Kagome’s mouth, only to plunge hard and fast back into the deliciously moist depths. Whenever his tongue returned inside of her mouth, Kagome would eagerly suck on it in order to keep it there.

They were mimicking an activity that they both would rather be doing, and Kagome, even as a virgin, was more than aware of it.

A low growl rumbled deep within Inuyasha’s chest, a sound that was more possessive than that of a threat. He pulled his tongue from Kagome’s mouth, opening his golden eyes to stare at Kagome’s flushed face. The girl was utterly beautiful, and as a youkai, Inuyasha could no longer deny himself of her. Her scent was overwhelming him, thanks to the fact that Kagome was in the middle of her cycle, making the girl more receptive to mating than at any other time of the month. Now that scent was tinged with the sexual arousal that Inuyasha created, and it was almost unbearable.

Even as loose as his hakama were, they were proving to be far too tight for his growing erection.

“Kagome,” Inuyasha’s voice, husked over with his desire for mating, called out to the girl, “what I’m gonna do, it’s gonna hurt at first…”

“I-I know,” Kagome mumbled, her voice sounding clearly nervous, her hands gripping on to Inuyasha’s haori more tightly than before. “Go ahead, I’m ready. I’ve been ready for this for such a long time, Inuyasha.”

Kagome had imagined her first time in a bed of silk sheets, with red and pink rose petals spread over neatly on the top of it. Candles in colors of red, pink and white would be lit around the room, providing the only light in the extremely dim room. There would be romantic music playing on a nearby CD player, and the man of her dreams would be gentle and loving, and considerate that she had never had sex before.

Though, Kagome was not in a time of CD players and romancing of the type she desired. Inuyasha, as careful as he always had been with her, would probably be rough on the account that he was a youkai now. Instincts ruled over all in the end, after all. But Kagome affirmed that she would not hold any of that against him. She loved him, and sex with Inuyasha would be an act of love. Kagome would take any pain that arose from their adult activity without making a sound.

However, Kagome wasn’t quite expecting the feeling of Inuyasha’s fangs sinking deep within the side of her neck, creating a pain that was far from erotic.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome screamed, using her hands that were formally on the youkai’s haori to try and push him away. “What…what are you doing?!” Every time that Kagome tried to push Inuyasha away, he simply dug his fangs deeper into her skin and tightened his hold on the hair behind her head. Was Inuyasha trying to kill her? Did she do something wrong?

Kagome shut her eyes tightly, tears beginning to splash down her cheeks. The pain was no longer restricted to the area of her neck where Inuyasha was bared on to with his teeth so tightly. Oddly, the pain seemed to slowly travel through the length of her entire body, paralyzing Kagome limb by limb, and body part by body part. First was her arms, with Kagome’s hands instantly releasing Inuyasha’s haori and dropping to her sides, limp. Next was her legs, both of which suddenly gave out on her and nearly making Kagome fall to the ground, but Inuyasha’s other arm shot out quickly to wrap firmly around Kagome’s body. The pain continued through her lower torso and upper body, and soon reached through her head.

As the pain dominated her head, a blinding light stole away Kagome’s vision, making her unable to see anything except for a deep darkness. It was then that Kagome’s pain finally left her. Either because her entire body was paralyzed or that she really wasn’t experiencing any pain anymore, Kagome wasn’t certain. She couldn’t even feel Inuyasha’s hands holding on to her body anymore, or the feeling of his fangs buried inside of her neck.

It was an odd feeling. Kagome wanted to move, but her body just wouldn’t. She wanted to cry for help, but her voice wouldn’t come to her. She was trapped, and the feeling of claustrophobia began to take a hold of her heart fiercely and quickly. Kagome managed a quiet whine, and even managed to move her body just a little bit.

“Kagome, stay still,” came Inuyasha’s soft command. There was a tinge of guilt in his voice, but why would he feel guilty? He knew that he was hurting Kagome, so why would he feel guilty afterwards?

“What…Inuyasha…” Kagome breathed out, even surprising herself with how hoarse her voice was. What in the hell did Inuyasha do that attacked her body in such a violent way?

Kagome’s eyesight was gradually starting to return, though all she could make out for the moment was the colors of her surrounding environment blurred together. Physical feeling was beginning to return as well, somewhat comforted by the warmth of Inuyasha’s body as he cradled her own in his arms so tightly.

“I didn’t think it would be that intense, I’m sorry,” he apologized, nuzzling his head up against Kagome’s and sighing against her cheek. “It’s probably because you have the power of purification that it wanted to reject the impurity of youkai saliva in your blood.” Inuyasha released a small laugh, though it was shrouded in nervousness.

The impurity of youkai saliva in her blood? Kagome narrowed her eyes as she was finally able to make out the outline of Inuyasha’s body more clearly, though there was still a great amount of blur of the finer details. “What…exactly did you do, Inuyasha?” Kagome asked in a whisper. She managed to move one of her hands to bring her wrist up and rub her eyes with it. “It felt like I was being burned from the inside…”

“Well,” Inuyasha swallowed nervously, and Kagome could now make out enough to tell that Inuyasha’s face looked very strained. “I marked you, Kagome.”

***

The pain was indescribable.

Kikyo had never been a person to be weak to pain, thanks to years of hard training as a priestess. However, the type of pain that wracked the very core of her body was nearly enough to make her scream out and cry. She sat on her knees, her arms wrapped around her body tightly as her entire frame shook violently. Her ebony hair stuck to her body of claw, which was covered in a thick sheen of sweat. A trail of blood that was the color of soil slid out from the corner of the fine lips of her mouth, and dripped down on to the wooden floor below her.

Even Kikyo’s shikigami were uncertain and terrified, swarming around the priestess in a frantic manner, staring at their mistress with pure worry on their faces. They might have been simple creatures, but they knew there was little that could be done for the undead woman at the moment, and they greatly disliked being resorted to such a helpless state.

No amount of souls that could be collected would alleviate their mistress’s pain.

“Inuyasha…” Kikyo groaned out, her voice full of disgust towards her former lover. Her face twisted in discomfort as another incredible pain shot through her body, and closed her lifeless eyes tightly. “I can’t believe…you marked her…”

The mental anguish was almost as horrible as the physical pain that wracked Kikyo’s body. Inuyasha was performing one of the most sacred and intimate of youkai rituals with someone that wasn’t her. To add more insult to injury, the person whom he was performing the marking with was her reincarnation! Inuyasha hadn’t even offered Kikyo the opportunity of the ritual when she was alive.

It wasn’t to say that Kikyo would have accepted the mark or not. A priestess receiving a mark from a hanyou was unheard of, especially one who had fully undergone the training that was required of one that desired to excel in their spiritual power. The powers of a priestess were of purification, and it was most unanimously decided that youkai energy was anything but pure, thus why priestesses were so effective in battles against youkai. To be infected by the saliva of the marker, hanyou or youkai, would probably only serve in greatly decreasing the powers of the priestess, if not completely making her useless.

Priestess and youkai were two lines that were never meant to be crossed.

There was something that made little sense, though. Inuyasha’s life was hers, not Kagome’s. Kikyo had staked claim to Inuyasha long before Kagome even came to existence, and even when her reincarnation had appeared from some five hundred years in the future, she made it very clear to Kagome that Inuyasha was not up for grabs.

“If he knows he’s mine, then why would he mark Kagome…?” Kikyo asked herself quietly, narrowing her eyes angrily as she spoke that wretched girl’s name.

“Because Inuyasha is no longer the hanyou he used to be.”

The pain had been so intense that Kikyo hadn’t even noticed the entry of another. Even though she was quite aware the beholder of the voice, Kikyo still tilted her head back to look over her shoulder at Kanna, who stood motionlessly several feet behind her. The youkai child looked the same as she always did, eyes that were even more void of emotion than Kikyo’s, and gently holding her mirror within her tiny hands. Kanna was a priceless tool to Naraku, and rarely did she see the field of battle, much less anywhere else without Naraku by her side.

So, Kanna’s presence was somewhat odd.

Kikyo gave the incarnation a hard glare, showing this thing of Naraku no more mercy than she would show Naraku himself. She stopped short from grabbing her bow and arrows from where they sat on the floor next to her. “Tell me what you mean, Kanna.”

Straight to the point, as usual, Kanna explained the situation to Kikyo in her usual flat tone. “Inuyasha and the others defeated Naraku in battle. Kagome purified the Shikon no Tama, and Inuyasha used the jewel to grant his wish of becoming a full blood youkai.”

“So, Inuyasha is a youkai now,” Kikyo murmured as she pushed herself up to stand on her feet. She turned around to fully face Kanna, raising an eyebrow as she stared down at the white-haired girl before her. “So, if Naraku is dead, why is it that you find yourself standing before me and offering me information about Inuyasha?”

‘You became youkai…for her…’

‘You wouldn’t even become human for me.’

“It’s quite simple, really,” Kanna replied, taking a few small steps towards Kikyo before falling on to her knees, closing her eyes and bowing her head respectfully towards the priestess. “Naraku’s wish was to kill Inuyasha when he was alive, and as his final incarnate left, it is my final duty to see that his wish is fulfilled.”

Kanna lifted her head, staring deeply into the eyes of the priestess before her, “As a priestess who once had possession of the Shikon no Tama, and who was once dearest in Inuyasha’s heart, I would think that you would be interested in helping me.”

Kikyo averted her eyes away from Kanna. Revenge was something that was becoming far too commonplace with her these days. It wasn’t anything enjoyable, but Kikyo did feel obligated to seek out revenge as this was probably her last chance at life on this plane. Leeching souls from the living would more than qualify her for a one way trip to Hell.

Maybe as her final act, Kikyo would finally take Inuyasha with her. Hell was a place that even Kagome could not reach; the girl had proven far too pure to reach such tainted grounds.

The undead priestess looked down at the child youkai, and gave her a twisted smile that only promised evil behind it.

***

“So,” Kagome began, sitting on her knees a good several feet away from where Inuyasha sat, moving her fingertips over the mark on her neck which had already scabbed over. “What exactly did you mean by ‘you marked me’, besides the obvious?” Kagome glanced over to Inuyasha, who hadn’t yet been able to look her in the eye ever since she regained consciousness and delivered a good slap to his face not so long ago.

There was still quite a prominent red mark on Inuyasha’s left cheek.

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, sitting Indian-style and wearing his red kimono once again, which was slightly dirty from having been dropped on the ground by Kagome earlier. “Well, it’s a youkai ritual, for one thing.”

Kagome rolled her eyes. Inuyasha was dragging his feet on the subject, as he usually did whenever he didn’t want to talk about something. “Care to elaborate any on what kind of youkai ritual it is?”

“I’m getting to it!”

“Like how a parked car gets anywhere,” Kagome muttered, ignoring the look of confusion on Inuyasha’s face. She had little patience reserved for the youkai right now. He best be giving her some answers soon, or Inuyasha would discover what other things Kagome was capable of other than making him ‘sit’. “It isn’t going to get any easier if you keep on stalling.”

Inuyasha glared at Kagome hard, folding his arms over his chest. “I ain’t stalling,” he grumbled, looking down to the ground. It might’ve been easier just to tell Kagome about it before marking her, but then he probably wouldn’t have had the courage to actually do it. Besides, actions were easier to perform than talking, even though there were more consequences to be had by doing the former first.

“When I said I marked you,” Inuyasha began, his entire body tensing and fixing his gaze on a little insignificant stone on the ground near him, “it meant that you’re, um, bound to me now. Like, you know how a wife is bound to her husband, except it’s a little more…permanent.”

Only a brief moment of silence passed before Kagome’s obviously unhappy voice growled out, “…What.”

Inuyasha never had such a strong desire in his life to hide from anything. He could sense in the very core of his being that death was imminent. Kagome was going to kill him. She was going to tear him limb by limb and feed it to the next hungry youkai that passed by. Nervously, Inuyasha spat out, “You heard what I said, wench!”

Like name-calling was going to help his situation any.

Abruptly, Kagome stood, storming over to the sitting Inuyasha and taking a fistful of his silver hair. She delivered a hard yank on the silver strands, forcing the inu youkai to look directly at her. Fury burned in Kagome’s eyes, and Inuyasha almost didn’t have to visualize fire burning around the girl’s body.

“So, let me get this straight,” Kagome leaned down so she was nose to nose with Inuyasha, scowling angrily into Inuyasha’s golden eyes, “you just decided to marry us without even asking me if I even wanted to be in the first place?!”

“You said you were ready for it!” Inuyasha frantically shouted, trying to push Kagome away from him so she would release the painful hold on his hair that she had. Even if Kagome had said no, or that she wasn’t ready to be marked, Inuyasha would have done it anyway. Though for his own safety, he figured he better keep that little tidbit a secret.

Kagome wasn’t a weak woman, though Inuyasha wouldn’t admit to her that he was aware of that fact.

“I didn’t mean I was ready to get the crap bit out of me!” Kagome yelled at him, giving his hair another hard tug before releasing it, setting her hands on her hips and glaring hard at the inu youkai. “I thought we were…you know!” She couldn’t help the blush that came over her cheeks, looking away from Inuyasha as she quietly said, “Going to make love!”

“What the hell is makin’ love?” Inuyasha, seeing her obvious discomfort on the subject, took a moment to look over her body with a slight smirk coming over his lips. Damn, Kagome was hot when she got angry.

“You know what it is! And stop checking me out!”

“No, I don’t know what it is,” Inuyasha grumbled her, pushing himself up to stand and dropping his arms down to his sides. He arched a silver eyebrow, staring hard at the girl. “And you’re mine, now. I can ‘check you out’ as much as I like.”

“I’m not yours, I’m not anyone’s,” Kagome growled low, fisting her hands tightly at her sides. Oh, if Inuyasha didn’t stop acting so childish, she was going to punch him!

Inuyasha arrogantly smirked at the angry girl. “You aren’t, are you? You were very much all over me earlier when you thought that we were gonna make love or whatever.”

“Inuyasha,” Kagome’s voice was in pure warning, but Inuyasha took it upon himself not to heed it.

“Whatever, Kagome,” Inuyasha grumbled, closing the distance between himself and the girl, placing a hand on her cheek and staring deeply into her eyes. “The marking is not reversible. Your scent has been forever altered from the moment my saliva entered your bloodstream. To every youkai with the ability to scent, they’re gonna be able to tell you are reserved for me and me only.”

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes to small slits, giving Kagome a dark smirk. “From here, we can only continue things along. Mating will come next, on the night of the full moon.” He lowered his hand from her face, trailing it down the side of her neck where the mark was, and then dipped his hand down to trace over her exposed collarbone. “And then, you will be completely mine, my soon-to-be Queen of the Western Region.”

Kagome’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment, shoving Inuyasha’s hand away and taking a step back from him, looking away. “What makes you think that I would even want to mate with you after all of this, or even go with you to the Western Region? You’ve been a complete jerk to me!”

“Oh, trust me,” Inuyasha reached forward, grabbing on to Kagome’s shoulders firmly and stepped close to Kagome once more. This time, he pressed the front of his body against Kagome’s, their lips just a mere breath’s apart. “When it comes to the time to mate, you’re not gonna have a choice.”

The youkai that stood before Kagome was someone she didn’t know. He had gone from tender and loving to this arrogant monster that wanted to take full control of her. Kagome was an individual at heart, so being anyone’s possession did not sit well with her at all, even if it meant the rest of her life with the man she had been in love with for so long. She found herself missing the Inuyasha who always said the wrong things, but meant well when he said them. She missed the Inuyasha that would always get flustered when he tried to say nice and romantic things. Above all, Kagome missed the Inuyasha that had been one of her very best friends.

Was this what Inuyasha wanted? Was being this controlling youkai better than being a hanyou that could be loved, given the right amount of time and patience?

It felt like the first day Kagome fell through the well. The world was new and she didn’t know what to expect. However, Kagome knew that she wasn’t going to abandon Inuyasha’s side, even when there were things about him that were so alien to her right now. Besides, what would Inuyasha be capable of if she wasn’t there to be his conscience?

‘If you’re not there for him, who would be?’

…Kikyo.

It was as if a bomb went off or a switch turned on. Kagome instantly brought her hands up, setting them on Inuyasha’s cheeks as she got up on her tip-toes. She pressed her lips against his hard, giving Inuyasha the fiercest kiss that she could manage. Inuyasha’s eyes widened, Kagome’s lips muffling his yelp of surprise. It didn’t take long for him to participate in the kiss, however, wrapping his arms around the girl’s slender body and crushing her body against his.

There was no way Kagome was going to let Kikyo have Inuyasha again.

Kagome was going to have to, just like before, find an opening in Inuyasha’s heart again, and bring out the good person he truly was. She just prayed that the person that was there before wasn’t gone for good. The Shikon no Tama may change the genetics of a person, but Kagome wanted to believe that it couldn’t change the personality of one. Hopefully, this ‘new’ Inuyasha would be just temporary, and his old self would soon surface.

Inuyasha was first to part from the kiss, licking his lips as he took a small step back from Kagome, but allowed his hands to linger on her hips. “We need to get going,” he told Kagome before leaving her presence, soon returning with her pair of black, muddy shoes. “I searched the forest and found these. I figured you’d need them for the trip.”

“Um, thanks,” Kagome shyly said, taking the shoes before sitting down, sliding them on over her feet. When sliding on the first shoe, she glanced up to Inuyasha briefly, asking, “So, are we really heading to the Western Region now?”

“We’re heading some where along the way first,” Inuyasha replied, sliding his arms in the sleeves of his red kimono, watching the girl put on her other shoe.

Once Kagome had her shoes securely on, she pushed herself up to stand on her feet, dusting off the back of her skirt with her hands. She looked back to Inuyasha, arching an ebony eyebrow. “Where?

“Toutousai’s,” Inuyasha told Kagome with a wide smirk. “I need a new sword.”

***

Two pairs of eyes silently watched as Kagome mounted Inuyasha’s back, as she always had done whenever they favored hastened travel, and continued on watching as the duo quickly disappeared from sight. Only when it was determined the inu youkai and girl were a safe distance away, did the owners of those eyes dare to speak.

“Ginta,” Hakkakku called out softly, still fearing that Inuyasha would pick up their voices even as they scented that he was getting further and further away by the second, “don’t you find it odd that Inuyasha did not acknowledge our presence? He should have been able to scent us…”

Ginta folded his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing at the spot where Inuyasha and Kagome formerly were. “Inuyasha knew we were here the entire time. There is no way our presence went unnoticed.”

Hakkakku looked confused, looking to Ginta with furrowed eyebrows and appearing unsure. “If he noticed us, why would he reveal his plans and even the location of their next destination? It doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense, Hakkakku,” Ginta growled low, “he wants Kouga knowing exactly where they’re going so he’ll follow. Inuyasha wants to take care of him…for good.”

Please review! You guys are gonna keep me going on this fic, and reviews are so encouraging. ^^ Until next time!

~kusari~