InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone ❯ The Mark ( Chapter 8 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: RhiannonoftheMoon 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.24.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 4.9K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.24.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 4.9K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other character created by Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 8 – The Mark
The forest had been suspiciously quiet for the last several minutes, but she wasn’t about to stop running. Did they split up and circle around her? She had no illusions about her speed; she knew the reason she had gotten as far as she had was because they were trying to prevent the other from chasing her as much as they were chasing her themselves. She also knew that she couldn’t maintain this pace for much longer.
She dared a quick peek over her shoulder and flared her nostrils, trying to catch their scents. Still nothing. Maybe should could take a quick breather after all? Or slow her pace the tiniest bit? ‘Hide.’ Kagome almost missed a step when the feminine voice whispered in her mind. ‘Are you crazy? They’ll sniff me out in a second!’ The voice laughed, a pleasant, soothing sound, ‘We are almost one; my power is yours. Hide your scent.’ ‘How?’ she asked, but the voice had retreated. ‘Great, just like Myoga, disappearing when I need her most.’
Her legs were beginning to feel like rubber and something was irritating the skin of her waist. ‘Hide my scent… what did she mean, almost one?’ She caught a whiff of jewel shards to her right and behind her. ‘Koga! He’s close!’ She swerved to the left and pushed herself to run faster. “I have to try,” she muttered to herself. Reaching down into herself as she did when tapping into her miko powers, she concentrated on masking her scent.
She groped blindly for a moment, then felt a click. Tendrils of pink energy swirled tightly around her then drew in. ‘I did it!’ Smiling in triumph, she jumped up into the trees. Changing direction again, she leapt from branch to branch through the canopy. Behind her, she heard a hoarse curse and the crack of a trunk being broken. ‘Good, he’s lost me.’ Confident that she had thrown him off her trail, she vaulted higher into the branches until she couldn’t see the ground.
Perched on a sturdy branch where it connected with the trunk, Kagome inspected the thing scratching her side. She groaned when she found the source of irritation; the safety pin holding her kimono closed was bent and threatening to come loose. She worked it out of the fabric and tried to bend it back into shape, scratching herself in the process. She popped the finger in her mouth, careful to not cut her lips on her claws. ‘No matter, it will heal as fast as the cuts on my palm.’
~~~
Inuyasha slipped through the trees like a shadow, single-mindedly focused on his prey. Now that his mangy rival was off his back, he could concentrate. He chuckled at the memory of the thud made by Koga’s body hitting the base of a large tree. Then, he had taken to the branches, knowing that the less nimble wolf would have to stay on the ground to keep up.
Baring his fangs in a snarl, eyes tingeing red, his demon blood struggled for domination. Dimly, he heard his human side screaming at him. He smothered it; his human blood had gotten him into this trouble in the first place. It had left her unclaimed and him doubting himself, pining for a dead woman. His youkai had no indecision; Kagome would be his.
Her scent, so strong moments before, was dissipating rapidly. He growled in frustration. ‘How…?’ He paused and tested the air. There was no mistake - her scent was gone. His ears flicked, catching the sounds of the forest and straining for anything that might give him a clue to her whereabouts. His only consolation was the string of obscenities from his opponent; Koga had lost her as well.
~~~
The ornery pin sprang out of her hands with a ping. Kagome scrambled to catch it, missing it by fractions of an inch and almost losing her seat in the tree. ‘Wardrobe malfunction,’ she sighed. ‘Hmmm…what to use as a belt.’ She grasped the bottom edge of the kimono and gave an experimental tug. It tore cleanly at the hem but she winced at the noise. ‘I can’t run around in an open kimono, so I guess it can’t be helped.’ She ripped the rest of the hem from the edge and wrapped it around her waist, tying it in a knot. ‘They would have heard that.’ She gave the area a cursory glance then silently bounded away.
Inuyasha’s ears locked on the sound of tearing fabric. He hurdled himself toward it, heedless of the noise he was creating. Subtle but unmistakable, he caught a whiff of her blood. His own blood burned in response and he maimed branches in his frantic desire to find it. He howled in fury when he found the source - a small metal pin stuck in the moss growing on the tree. Her musk covered the pin but there was no trace of her on that tree. He glared up into the branches, then shot into them, stopping when he detected her scent again.
Hunching down over the branch where the smell was strongest, he inspected the area for a sign of her. Finally, he found it, a small blue thread from her kimono. He pinched it between two long claws and ran his tongue over his fangs. She was very close. Despite his frustration, he was really enjoying this hunt.
He launched from the branch and into the sky, eyes raking the forest below. He was rewarded with a flash of blue through the treetops. Stifling a shout of triumph, he flung himself toward her fleeing figure. So intent on his prey, he almost missed the sagebrush scent of his rival. “That bastard is following me,” he growled.
~~~
They were closing in on her - she could smell them. The jewel shards were behind her but rapidly approaching. Inuyasha was flying above like a red-robed angel. Another scent came on the breeze, familiar, but one she couldn’t quite place. She dismissed it with a shake of her head; there was no room in her mind for anything but the chase. She was so exhausted that instinct alone kept her leaping from branch to branch.
The trees ended abruptly at a large clearing, making her pause. She bunched her muscles to spring into the center but was borne to the ground by a heavy weight on her back. As she crashed through the branches to the ground, the weight was thrown clear, but she lost her hold mask she had put around her scent. Twisting in the air, she landed on her feet facing Inuyasha. His golden eyes were bleeding red, faint slashes touching his cheeks. Glaring at her from under his bangs, he roared at her. Though unintelligible to humans, she understood the words in it: “Come, mate!” She shrieked back in the primal youkai tongue, “Catch me!”
A brown blur surrounded by the clean scent of the Shikon jewel broke through the trees, distracting them both. Inuyasha recovered quicker, lunging forward and knocking her to the ground, flattening her with his body. Koga skidded to a stop mere inches from tumbling on top of them, then backed away slowly, shoulders sagging in defeat. Inuyasha dug his claws into his prize and he raised his head, snarling at his beaten rival. Dropping to his knees, the wolf demon threw his head back and howled. With a last look at his would-be mate, Koga pushed himself to his feet and staggered off into the trees.
Inuyasha gazed down at Kagome, silver hair cascading around his face like a curtain. Silver eyes stared back up him, hooded by thick lashes. Her black hair glinted with opalescent highlights and spilled over the grass like ink. A faint smudge marred the skin of her forehead. Rumbling low in his chest, he lowered his head and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. ‘Mine,’ the tenent pounded in his head as the red leeched from his eyes.
Kagome lay limp, utterly spent. She was breathing hard from the chase; each breath pressed her to him, sending sparks of heat through their bodies. He crushed her under him, capturing her lips in a fierce kiss. Her lips parted, allowing him entrance and meeting his need with a passion of her own. His tongue flicked into her mouth, tasting her sweetness. She sank her claws into his hair, holding his head to hers.
~~~
Miroku searched the ground from Kirara’s back, desperate to find any sign of Inuyasha or Kagome. Kirara had led them this far; luckily, she had caught a whiff of one of them and had flown at top speed, following her nose. A flash of silver and red registered in the corner of his eye. “Over there, Kirara,” he shouted, pointing with his staff. The fire cat cornered in the air and swooped down to where the red blur had disappeared into the trees. Moments later, a mournful howl rent the air. ‘What can this mean? I hope I’m not too late,’ Miroku’s brow furrowed in concern.
As soon as the cat had landed in the clearing, Miroku sprang off her back. The hanyou was laying in the grass, oblivious to his presence. No, he was laying on something. The monk gasped when he spied the black hair mingling with silver.
“Inuyasha! Don’t do anything you will regret later!”
Inuyasha’s eyes fixed on the monk, then turned back to the woman pinned beneath him. She gazed back up at him, seeming not to notice the monk or fire cat. Now was the time, he had to make his claim. The monk would not stop him.
He kissed her again, his youkai energy flaring and pulsing against hers. She twined her energy with his, arching her back and pressing her breasts against his chest. Her head fell back, exposing her soft throat. Tracing her artery with his tongue, nibbling her jaw, he slid his knee up the inside of her thigh. His nipped her lips with his fangs, drawing small beads of blood. Writhing beneath him, her youkai instincts were fed by his ministrations. Every touch scorched her, melted her, left her wanting more.
The heady aroma of her filled his world; she wanted him as much as he wanted her. His youkai crackled around him then suddenly withdrew into his chest. ‘MINE!’ his youkai screamed in his head and his lips slammed into hers, bruising them, forcing her head to the ground. From his chest, through his throat and past his lips, a ball of energy shot into her. Her silver eyes widened and her body went rigid as the energy raced down her spine. The sphere burned through her and exploded at the small of her back, sending tentacles of power into her core that latched into her very being.
A soft whine escaped her lips, echoing the fading cry of the feminine voice that had inhabited her. ‘…One…’ At the back of her mind, Kagome knew that the voice was gone. A crimson eight-pointed star coalesced on her forehead, replacing the indistinct smudge.
Inuyasha kissed her slowly, languidly, relishing the feeling of her body and the thrum of his mark in her. Pulling back to gaze down on his mate, his golden eyes found the star on her forehead. He brushed his claws over her face in wonderment. ‘Where did this come from?’
Miroku held back, hesitant to approach the couple. He didn’t know what had just passed between them but was sure that he didn’t want to “interrupt”, as Shippo had put it. Cheeks burning in embarrassment, Miroku turned his back to them and stared at the ground. Was this what Sango had been afraid of?
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Chapter 8 – The Mark
The forest had been suspiciously quiet for the last several minutes, but she wasn’t about to stop running. Did they split up and circle around her? She had no illusions about her speed; she knew the reason she had gotten as far as she had was because they were trying to prevent the other from chasing her as much as they were chasing her themselves. She also knew that she couldn’t maintain this pace for much longer.
She dared a quick peek over her shoulder and flared her nostrils, trying to catch their scents. Still nothing. Maybe should could take a quick breather after all? Or slow her pace the tiniest bit? ‘Hide.’ Kagome almost missed a step when the feminine voice whispered in her mind. ‘Are you crazy? They’ll sniff me out in a second!’ The voice laughed, a pleasant, soothing sound, ‘We are almost one; my power is yours. Hide your scent.’ ‘How?’ she asked, but the voice had retreated. ‘Great, just like Myoga, disappearing when I need her most.’
Her legs were beginning to feel like rubber and something was irritating the skin of her waist. ‘Hide my scent… what did she mean, almost one?’ She caught a whiff of jewel shards to her right and behind her. ‘Koga! He’s close!’ She swerved to the left and pushed herself to run faster. “I have to try,” she muttered to herself. Reaching down into herself as she did when tapping into her miko powers, she concentrated on masking her scent.
She groped blindly for a moment, then felt a click. Tendrils of pink energy swirled tightly around her then drew in. ‘I did it!’ Smiling in triumph, she jumped up into the trees. Changing direction again, she leapt from branch to branch through the canopy. Behind her, she heard a hoarse curse and the crack of a trunk being broken. ‘Good, he’s lost me.’ Confident that she had thrown him off her trail, she vaulted higher into the branches until she couldn’t see the ground.
Perched on a sturdy branch where it connected with the trunk, Kagome inspected the thing scratching her side. She groaned when she found the source of irritation; the safety pin holding her kimono closed was bent and threatening to come loose. She worked it out of the fabric and tried to bend it back into shape, scratching herself in the process. She popped the finger in her mouth, careful to not cut her lips on her claws. ‘No matter, it will heal as fast as the cuts on my palm.’
~~~
Inuyasha slipped through the trees like a shadow, single-mindedly focused on his prey. Now that his mangy rival was off his back, he could concentrate. He chuckled at the memory of the thud made by Koga’s body hitting the base of a large tree. Then, he had taken to the branches, knowing that the less nimble wolf would have to stay on the ground to keep up.
Baring his fangs in a snarl, eyes tingeing red, his demon blood struggled for domination. Dimly, he heard his human side screaming at him. He smothered it; his human blood had gotten him into this trouble in the first place. It had left her unclaimed and him doubting himself, pining for a dead woman. His youkai had no indecision; Kagome would be his.
Her scent, so strong moments before, was dissipating rapidly. He growled in frustration. ‘How…?’ He paused and tested the air. There was no mistake - her scent was gone. His ears flicked, catching the sounds of the forest and straining for anything that might give him a clue to her whereabouts. His only consolation was the string of obscenities from his opponent; Koga had lost her as well.
~~~
The ornery pin sprang out of her hands with a ping. Kagome scrambled to catch it, missing it by fractions of an inch and almost losing her seat in the tree. ‘Wardrobe malfunction,’ she sighed. ‘Hmmm…what to use as a belt.’ She grasped the bottom edge of the kimono and gave an experimental tug. It tore cleanly at the hem but she winced at the noise. ‘I can’t run around in an open kimono, so I guess it can’t be helped.’ She ripped the rest of the hem from the edge and wrapped it around her waist, tying it in a knot. ‘They would have heard that.’ She gave the area a cursory glance then silently bounded away.
Inuyasha’s ears locked on the sound of tearing fabric. He hurdled himself toward it, heedless of the noise he was creating. Subtle but unmistakable, he caught a whiff of her blood. His own blood burned in response and he maimed branches in his frantic desire to find it. He howled in fury when he found the source - a small metal pin stuck in the moss growing on the tree. Her musk covered the pin but there was no trace of her on that tree. He glared up into the branches, then shot into them, stopping when he detected her scent again.
Hunching down over the branch where the smell was strongest, he inspected the area for a sign of her. Finally, he found it, a small blue thread from her kimono. He pinched it between two long claws and ran his tongue over his fangs. She was very close. Despite his frustration, he was really enjoying this hunt.
He launched from the branch and into the sky, eyes raking the forest below. He was rewarded with a flash of blue through the treetops. Stifling a shout of triumph, he flung himself toward her fleeing figure. So intent on his prey, he almost missed the sagebrush scent of his rival. “That bastard is following me,” he growled.
~~~
They were closing in on her - she could smell them. The jewel shards were behind her but rapidly approaching. Inuyasha was flying above like a red-robed angel. Another scent came on the breeze, familiar, but one she couldn’t quite place. She dismissed it with a shake of her head; there was no room in her mind for anything but the chase. She was so exhausted that instinct alone kept her leaping from branch to branch.
The trees ended abruptly at a large clearing, making her pause. She bunched her muscles to spring into the center but was borne to the ground by a heavy weight on her back. As she crashed through the branches to the ground, the weight was thrown clear, but she lost her hold mask she had put around her scent. Twisting in the air, she landed on her feet facing Inuyasha. His golden eyes were bleeding red, faint slashes touching his cheeks. Glaring at her from under his bangs, he roared at her. Though unintelligible to humans, she understood the words in it: “Come, mate!” She shrieked back in the primal youkai tongue, “Catch me!”
A brown blur surrounded by the clean scent of the Shikon jewel broke through the trees, distracting them both. Inuyasha recovered quicker, lunging forward and knocking her to the ground, flattening her with his body. Koga skidded to a stop mere inches from tumbling on top of them, then backed away slowly, shoulders sagging in defeat. Inuyasha dug his claws into his prize and he raised his head, snarling at his beaten rival. Dropping to his knees, the wolf demon threw his head back and howled. With a last look at his would-be mate, Koga pushed himself to his feet and staggered off into the trees.
Inuyasha gazed down at Kagome, silver hair cascading around his face like a curtain. Silver eyes stared back up him, hooded by thick lashes. Her black hair glinted with opalescent highlights and spilled over the grass like ink. A faint smudge marred the skin of her forehead. Rumbling low in his chest, he lowered his head and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. ‘Mine,’ the tenent pounded in his head as the red leeched from his eyes.
Kagome lay limp, utterly spent. She was breathing hard from the chase; each breath pressed her to him, sending sparks of heat through their bodies. He crushed her under him, capturing her lips in a fierce kiss. Her lips parted, allowing him entrance and meeting his need with a passion of her own. His tongue flicked into her mouth, tasting her sweetness. She sank her claws into his hair, holding his head to hers.
~~~
Miroku searched the ground from Kirara’s back, desperate to find any sign of Inuyasha or Kagome. Kirara had led them this far; luckily, she had caught a whiff of one of them and had flown at top speed, following her nose. A flash of silver and red registered in the corner of his eye. “Over there, Kirara,” he shouted, pointing with his staff. The fire cat cornered in the air and swooped down to where the red blur had disappeared into the trees. Moments later, a mournful howl rent the air. ‘What can this mean? I hope I’m not too late,’ Miroku’s brow furrowed in concern.
As soon as the cat had landed in the clearing, Miroku sprang off her back. The hanyou was laying in the grass, oblivious to his presence. No, he was laying on something. The monk gasped when he spied the black hair mingling with silver.
“Inuyasha! Don’t do anything you will regret later!”
Inuyasha’s eyes fixed on the monk, then turned back to the woman pinned beneath him. She gazed back up at him, seeming not to notice the monk or fire cat. Now was the time, he had to make his claim. The monk would not stop him.
He kissed her again, his youkai energy flaring and pulsing against hers. She twined her energy with his, arching her back and pressing her breasts against his chest. Her head fell back, exposing her soft throat. Tracing her artery with his tongue, nibbling her jaw, he slid his knee up the inside of her thigh. His nipped her lips with his fangs, drawing small beads of blood. Writhing beneath him, her youkai instincts were fed by his ministrations. Every touch scorched her, melted her, left her wanting more.
The heady aroma of her filled his world; she wanted him as much as he wanted her. His youkai crackled around him then suddenly withdrew into his chest. ‘MINE!’ his youkai screamed in his head and his lips slammed into hers, bruising them, forcing her head to the ground. From his chest, through his throat and past his lips, a ball of energy shot into her. Her silver eyes widened and her body went rigid as the energy raced down her spine. The sphere burned through her and exploded at the small of her back, sending tentacles of power into her core that latched into her very being.
A soft whine escaped her lips, echoing the fading cry of the feminine voice that had inhabited her. ‘…One…’ At the back of her mind, Kagome knew that the voice was gone. A crimson eight-pointed star coalesced on her forehead, replacing the indistinct smudge.
Inuyasha kissed her slowly, languidly, relishing the feeling of her body and the thrum of his mark in her. Pulling back to gaze down on his mate, his golden eyes found the star on her forehead. He brushed his claws over her face in wonderment. ‘Where did this come from?’
Miroku held back, hesitant to approach the couple. He didn’t know what had just passed between them but was sure that he didn’t want to “interrupt”, as Shippo had put it. Cheeks burning in embarrassment, Miroku turned his back to them and stared at the ground. Was this what Sango had been afraid of?
Converting /tmp/phpnQpKUO to /dev/stdout