InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strength of Bond ❯ Explain ( Chapter 3 )

4/18/04- edited.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Warnings: None

Chapter 3

The rest of the day, Kagome spent investigating all the discrepancies from the past two nights. First, she checked her bed sheets thoroughly, trying to see if any blood was upon them. She found the very faint yellowing that one finds from blood stains, but no actual red-brown `blood.' The down side to yellowing stains, however, was the fact that she didn't know how recent or old it was. After all, `accidents' do happen and these sheets did show more than one or two yellowing spots. Blood is a difficult fluid to take out of cloth, and there aren't good enough soaps that do it affectively, yet.

Nonetheless, the sheets had been cleaned well... too well. Meaning, she hadn't cleaned them, but she already know that. Some dry cleaner company had given her the sheets the other day. She wandered over to her closet to pull out the plastic wrap the bed sheets were in. No markings of any kind told her which company had cleaned the cloth. Therefore, she had no way of finding out how they got her sheets in the first place, if the sheets had been cleaned by some company. She also knew she hadn't taken anything over to a cleaner recently.

The next thing she checked, was actually smelling the sheets. After all, she and her dream apparition had been doing stuff last night. She was disappointed, however, to smell nothing but the spring fresh scent of laundry soap. Her pillow, however, was another matter. It did have a weird smell, almost like the sweet forest scent that comes just after rain has fallen. She smelled it again, bringing the pillow closer to her body. The scent was actually a little intoxicating to her. After the third time she sniffed the pillow, she quickly threw the pillow across the room. Her face was a soft pink, and she mentally hit herself over the head for her behavior.

Deciding that she had discovered all she could from the bed, she searched out her discarded pajamas from the day before last and the undergarments. They were in her small hamper stuffed somewhere in her closet. Since they hadn't been washed yet, she hoped to find traces of something there. It was interesting that all this time of searching, she still didn't really know what she was looking for, other than blood. She may be naive in the ways of the world, but she wasn't that dumb to not know that virgins bleed their first time.

This time she wasn't disappointed. Small traces of blood were found on the pajama pants of the outfit- which were a dark navy blue with white fluffy clouds. If she hadn't been looking for the blood she would have missed it completely. The undergarment was not any better, showing a slightly darker stain.

She collapsed in front of her closet from the shock and horror of her thoughts. Her dream was real and now she was... well not a virgin anymore. She began to recall the previous day before the first encounter. She hadn't ridden her bike at all. Nor did she have archery practice, which was tomorrow night. She hadn't even given anything to a dry cleaner- the closest one a good thirty minutes away by bike. She had been at school that day from eight in the morning till three that afternoon before coming home. No club activity, no problems getting home from school, no biking involved. Nothing.

Her hand fluttered to her stomach. What if she was pregnant? She curled in on herself, grabbing a hold of the nearest stuffed animal, as she started to cry. She had no idea who her assailant was, nor could she really count this as rape. She hadn't said no... but then again she hadn't said `yes' either. The worst of it all, was the fact that she enjoyed every bit of her rounds with the being at night. Which only made her cry harder, trying to reason that what had happened was not her fault.

This was how her mother had found her. She didn't ask, though she was sure Kagome wouldn't answer. Whatever was wrong with her daughter, she couldn't even begin to fathom. Well actually, she could, but to tell her daughter that, would probably just make things worse. No, right now she would just hold her sobbing daughter, and whisper comforting words to help her calm down.

It had taken several long minutes for the sobbing to subside enough for Kagome to begin to breath normally. However, Kagome still clinged to her mother like a life line, almost as if the moment she let go her world would crash down about her ears. Tentatively, her mother asked a question that had bothered her ever since she had found her distraught daughter, "Kagome, dear, what's wrong?"

Kagome sniffled. Her eyes were puffy and swollen, hiding the fact that her normally gray-blue eyes were now a watery blue. "Nothing, okaasan. I'm just… really… tired. I guess I'm not… sleeping… very well. Maybe the… `flow' of the room is… wrong."

Her mother nodded her head. "Well, you can sleep in my room tonight, if that would help? Or the couch downstairs."

Kagome nodded her head. "That would be wonderful, `kaasan." She felt slightly guilty about not telling her mother the truth. She also felt pretty silly too, since the last time she had run to her mother like this, she had been eight years old. She could still remember the bad dream that had plagued her. But it had been nothing like what she was feeling now. No, that dream had been about exam teachers refusing to allow her to go home until she had taken every test and gotten a hundred percent on them so that she could get into a good secondary school.

This was far different though. She didn't have to worry about her sensei's pressuring her about exams anymore. She was already in a prestigious high school, which would send her straight on to Tokyo University, upon graduation. No, this was a real problem that was going to change her future. She just wasn't sure if it was going to be for the better or for the worse.

Nonetheless, she was now too afraid to sleep in her room, knowing that her dreams were real. Whomever that being was, could probably come back. She was afraid to be alone now. Not really afraid of the being, but of herself and what she was feeling. So, staying with her mother couldn't hurt anything. What could go wrong, right?

~~-~~

"Stupid girl," muttered a male voice stepping out of the shadows at the doorway of Kagome's mother's room. Light from the nearby window illuminated the girl in the large bed, as well as the older figure. If the girl thought she could hide from him in her mother's room, she was going to be sorely surprised. When he had arrived a few minutes ago, he had wanted to break something in frustration and anger. She wasn't sleeping where she was supposed to be.

He knew she couldn't have gone anywhere far, as her blood called to him and her scent teased his nose. But to think she would actually hide from him behind her mother, was annoying and aggravating. He would have to lure her awake and away from the safety of her mother. He would have to work quickly, for if he didn't join with her before dawn, both of them would die. He silently left the room in search of an idea he might use and things he might need.

~~-~~

Kagome awoke slowly to a strange noise. Blearily, she opened her eyes, trying to focus on the room around her. Silence and darkness encircled her form, leaving only the strange feeling of something wrong or off. She laid her head back down upon the downy pillow, drawing the coverings up to her neck, and closing her eyes to try and drift back to sleep. She shifted trying to get comfortable again, but a chill down her spine told her that something was still off.

A soft growling sound, a moment later, jolted her into a sitting position. She glanced around the room with wild frightened eyes, seeing but not really `seeing.' The moon was shining brightly, through her mother's opened curtains, which allowed her to easily distinguish everything in the room. Nothing was out of place, except for the fact that her mother's door was open. "Odd," she whispered. Her mother always closed the door at night. This had been a normal occurrence because her grandfather slept next door and snored very loudly, even with his door closed.

She shifted out of the bed to stand, only now feeling the falling of rose petals to the floor. She glanced down to see a trail of petals leading out of the room and into the darkened hallway beyond. She gulped reflexively. He was here and he definitely wanted to draw her out of the safety of her mother's bed. He had even been in the room, for who knows how long, to leave the trail of rose petals. Was he trying to woo or intimidate her?

She had no idea what to think, so she didn't move from her spot next to the bed. After a full minute of silence had passed, her eyes staring wide-eyed at the door, another low growl was issued from the hall. Shivers coursed up and down her arms and spine, and she backed further away from the door to the corner of her mother's room. The growl increased at her movement, and suddenly Kagome felt very afraid of this growl. It had been threatening this time, as if it would attack even in the confines of the room. She whimpered slightly- knowing she had no choice but to obey, before bowing her head and shifting around the room to the door.

The growling had stopped by the time she had entered the hall. It was pitch black out here, and she could barely see anything in front of her. As soon as she had left the room behind, the door quickly shut, immersing her in total darkness. Another frightened whimper emerged from her throat, and she would have fled down the hall if she could see.

A moment later a pair of warm arms wrapped around her torso, his head nuzzling into her neck. "You have no reason to fear me. I will not harm you."

The voice was soft and husky, causing the girl to shiver in response. She struggled against her warring emotions, especially the ones that wanted to feel this man like she had on the previous two nights. "You are already harming me," she snapped before thinking. Her voice, however, was weak and didn't have much force in it.

For the being, however, it was like a bucket of cold water had been dropped on his head. His arms abruptly let her go. "Where did I hurt you?"

The words were said so softly, that at first Kagome hadn't thought she heard right. Was this man actually afraid he had hurt her? She turned towards the direction the arms had come from, but she couldn't see a thing. "Why can't I see you?" she asked, her eyes wide and confused.

"Answer my question first, girl. Where did I hurt you?"

Kagome grumbled moving backwards and hitting the wall of the hall. "I'd laugh if this situation was anything but what it is." She slowly slid down the wall to rest, sitting, on the ground. "You didn't hurt me."

"Well, then get off the ground, wench, we have more important things to be doing before sunrise."

Kagome's eyes narrowed, losing quite a bit of her fear of the being. "I'd rather not do what you have in mind. I don't even know you!" she snapped, focusing her eyes on the darkness.

"I'm over here," muttered an irritated voice.

She turned her head in the direction of the voice. "Besides you didn't answer my question." The feeling of a hand on her arm, caused her to jump slightly. A growl resounded from the man that, she now knew, was beside her.

"Why are you afraid of me?"

Kagome gave a very unlady like grunt before answering, "Where would you like me to start? I'm currently stuck in a darkened hallway with a male I don't even know and I can't see. And to top off that, I've had intercourse with you! When do you think I should start being unafraid?!"

She felt a soft caress on her arm, sending pleasant chills through her body. A moment later a warm breath hovered over her neck. It was followed by an equally warm embrace, as his strong arms encompass her from, pulling her to him. She reluctantly yielded to his hold, seeking out the warmth his body held. Why was it that even though she didn't know him, she felt safe and protected? It was like she knew he wouldn't willing want to harm or distress her. A soft rumbling vibration emerged from the chest of the being behind her, which only further relaxed her- much to her mind's annoyance.

Heavy breathing tickled her ear, before an answering male voice said,"I'll allow you to ask me some questions, but I can't guarantee that I will be able to answer them."

"What's your name? What are you? Why can't I see-" A finger pressed against her lips to silence her numerous questions.

"One at a time," he growled, but amusement was thick in his tone. "My name is Inuyasha. What I am will be answered after the five day time limit."

"Five day time limit? What does that mean?"

"All you need to concern yourself with is this: for five days we will mate each evening. On the sixth day, you will be able to see me, and I will be able to explain more things to you. Right now, it's against the rules to tell you more than that."

"Why?"

"Because the code is part of-"

"Not that. I meant why are we supposed to mate?"

"That's a stupid question."

Kagome huffed, before trying to pull herself from his arms. "It is not!" she hissed. "I'm sixteen years old! I'm not suppose to be... 'mating' with anyone! I'm suppose to go to school and do obscene amounts of homework!"

"Stop yelling," he snapped, enveloping her further into his embrace to prevent her escape. "Didn't your mother ever tell you?"

Kagome froze. "Tell me what?"

Inuyasha sighed. "It is the duty of the Counsel to bound a miko to another being when they come of age. It's to prevent the miko powers from killing the miko and everyone else around them. You see if a miko doesn't mate during the time she is to come of age, her powers will start to expand. At a certain point, the power will become too strong for one body to hold. The result is that the powers will start to kill off the body to try and escape it's boundaries. It was discovered several centuries back that when a miko mated, her powers were able to be siphoned off toward a mate and thus prevent death."

"So you are telling me that I am some miko, and that some group of people I have never met, have decreed you to be my mate?"

"Yeah, something like that. Though the group of 'people' you so ordained, aren't exactly what you would call ordinary."

"And my mother was supposed to tell me about this?"

"Of course. She's the highest classed miko and a member of the Counsel. It was her duty to tell you. Feh, stupid humans."

Kagome smiled, just imagining the male behind her rolling his eyes. "So what does this... uh... five day period expect from me?"

"Nothing except a joining each night for the five days. Each day you will become more tired and sleep longer, but don't worry about that. However, if we don't join each night before the rising of the sun, we can both be killed by your miko powers."

"Why by dawn?"

"Because miko powers are supposedly dormant during the night. When day light comes, so does the power. This is why you sleep so long. Your miko powers are trying to get out of your system. But a joining allows the mate to take that extra power while it's in the dormant stage."

"So we... have to...m-mate... each n-night?" she squeaked out between ragged gulps of breaths.

"Unless you want us to both die."

"I don't thin-" Her words were suddenly cut off by the pressing of his lips to her own. They were soft and warm, his teeth nipping at her lower lip to ask for admittance. She yielded, opening her mouth for his tongue to make his exploration. Her mind ceased most of her protests, relying on responding her body to his. She turned toward his body to allow him better access to the recesses of her mouth.

He growled with approval, before lifting her body up into his arms. With the grace of a cat, he rose from the ground in a fluid motion, never breaking the kiss. She, in turn, curled more into his arms, her own arms wrapping tightly around his neck, drawing his mouth closer to her own. It was an uneasy and slightly inept walk that led them back to her room.

She broke the kiss, when she felt the cool fabric of her bed sheets beneath her. She had her eyes closed, figuring it was pointless to have them open since she couldn't seem him in the first place. "Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?" came his reply, as he settled himself over top his prey.

"Why are you the one to be my mate?"

"Because I asked to be." He murmured this next to her ear, before dragging his mouth back to her's and silencing any remaining words for the rest of the night.

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Added 4/18/04

Pronunciation and Translation Guide:

Inuyasha- (E-new-yah-shah) Literally means female dog demon… but typically most just refer to his name as dog demon… though yasha is really only used for female demons.

Sensei- (seh-n-say)- A teacher; an instructor.

Miko- (Me- koh)- Maiden in service to a shrine. A shinto priestess.