InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strength of Bond ❯ Another Strength ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: If you are a friend of mine, no comments allowed in person. Post a review only… any comment and I'll give you the cold shoulder for a long, long time. As for everyone else, take a cold shower… or two. Shorter than the last… learned my lesson about too long of chapters.

Warning: Well technically this has citrus only… but beware. It is very sour ^.~.

Chapter 12

Inuyasha fidgeted beside the Shinto priest his brother had hired for the ceremony. He played with the black montsuki kimono with his family crest, the two kanji for Taishou in red and white on the back, and attempted to smooth out any imaginary wrinkles. His feet shifted upon the floor, his zori sandals left at the foot of the slightly raised tatami floor. He stood upon sacred flooring near a golden alter, where shoes are not permitted. His brother Sesshoumaru stood down from the slightly raised area, while Kagome's mother and brother were to the other side of him. It was a small ceremony, but most of the sake ceremonies, San San Kudo, were strictly for immediate family only.

Usually, marriages would take place outside the actual sanctuary of the shrine, but due to the unforeseen snow fall, it was too cold and wet to do outside. Even inside the shrine, the human family was bundled up in layers of clothing. There were five other people present, other than the priest. Three of them had flutes to play the "Ga Ga Ku" song. The other two were emissaries from the Council with legal binding marriage documents- impressively legal even for two underage people.

Three servants, Kagome, and her grandfather would be arriving shortly. They were removing Kagome's uchikake that she had worn for the bonding ceremony. He was more than a little nervous, wondering how his mother's kimono would look upon the girl he would dedicate his life to. Amazingly, he wasn't worried about their future together. He already knew that there was no one else in the world that could take the place she had already staked as her own in his heart and mind. How she did that, he had no idea, but he didn't really question that problem either. No, he would have to say he was more worried about how she would learn to live with him for the rest of their lives. Would she be able to deal with that? Stuck to a hanyou for this life and even possibly the next?

His thoughts froze and his body forgot the need to breathe as Kagome entered the shrine with her grandfather, dressed the shiro-maku kimono. The tsunokakushi covered her hair and upper forehead to hide the `horns' made by the combs in her hair. As she stepped out of the softly falling snow, she looked like a snow nymph emerging from her home into a vast new world. Was it truly possible for another being to look so… ethereal and goddess like? He wasn't sure, but if he could guess, it was a probable no to everyone but the apple of your own eye. Yeah, he could definitely get used to be married, mated, bonded, and everything else with her.

Kagome, for her part, was scared to death. She had hyperventilated the moment she was whisked off into the house to remove the uchikake and put on the wedding hood. She couldn't do this. There was no way she could go through the sake ceremony and legally marry herself to a man she knew little to nothing about other than how he felt in the physical manner. Couldn't they hold off until they were ready for this? It was a stupid question to ask herself. She could no more jump off a bridge without a bungy cord than live, not married, with someone she had to be intimately involved with. It would ruin her reputation and dishonor both their families.

Still, was this really necessary? Couldn't they just sign their names on a paper and call it even for awhile and hold a formal ceremony later? Apparently not, she had concluded as she was ushered into the shrine with her grandfather. She knew she probably looked a bit pale, but it was rather reassuring to see that there were few people there, only a few she did not know and would never have to know. She drew her eyes off the ground and found her way to her bonded.

He stood there, a pensive look upon his face that mirrored the severity of how terrified of this she was. It eased her mind to know that she wasn't the only one with misgivings. She smiled slightly, and when he returned it with a tentative one of his own, a huge weight suddenly lifted from her chest. She could do this. She was strong and brave enough to handle the responsibility of another person depending on her in many ways. To this point in her life, her world revolved around her mother, brother, briefly for her father, and her grandfather. She had room to fit him in her life, no problem.

It wasn't like they didn't get along or anything. The spark between them could probably launch World War III with the amount of tension and fire they had to burn. They could make this work with a bit of effort and acceptance. She was good at being a helper of man kind, a person who excelled in making people feel wanted, adored, accepted, and loved. Inuyasha probably needed her more than he would ever say. She had seen it at the Magera Headquarters, how people regarded him with fear and disdain. He needed her to show him that he was wanted, adored, accepted, and maybe even loved.

With this in mind, the paleness left her cheeks and she returned to her confident self once more. She slipped from her shoes, the servants removing them to the side and her grandfather handed her off to Inuyasha. His hand was warm, wrapping around her cold digits, to draw her up to a set of pillows for them to kneel upon. The flutes began to play in a softer tone as the Shinto priest began to recite the ceremony.

Kagome glanced toward Inuyasha, whom had a red tint to his cheeks, and gave his hand a soft squeeze. She was rewarded with a small smirk and wink, and an answered clench of his hand. After they were purified and the vows were recited, the priest kneeled upon the floor by a small table. He picked up the first flat cup and poured warm sake into the dish. He then handed the dish to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha took it carefully between his fingers and took three small sips, trying not to wince at the potent taste. He then gently moved and passed the dish to Kagome. She mimicked her bonded by taking three sips and then handed it to a servant, whom proceeded to hand the dish to each guest present. Kagome took three more sips out of the next larger cup before handing it to Inuyasha in the same manner. The second servant took this dish, to hand around, as Inuyasha proceeded through the last cup, larger than the other two. As he passed it to Kagome, the priest filled smaller cups for each person present, the flutes ceased their chatter at this point. As the last dish finished its round, all present received a very small dish filled with sake. Together all drink as one, the majority of the guests trying there best not to cough up the mix.

The Shinto priest had the pair of them rise and handed Kagome and Inuyasha tree twigs called sakaki to be given to kami outside and used to give good luck for their future. The flutes began again as the pair fixed their shoes on and departed through the doors of the shrine with the priest to a special area to place the twigs for good luck. Together they laid them down and moved back toward the entrance to the main shrine. Snow fell about them, and a gentle breeze swirled the white flakes in enchanted dances decorating the whole party. With snow falling into their eyes, Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged small gold bands- courtesy of Sesshoumaru- and concluded the ceremony with a gentle kiss.

With a loud shout from her brother, and a short applause from the more refined adults, they sealed their fate. As they headed slowly back into the shrine, Kagome and Inuyasha signed their names onto their wedding certificate. Unknown to them, they had just sealed their first bond more securely, strengthened with another thread.

~~~-~~~

The celebration in the great hall of Sesshoumaru's home was extravagant. At least two hundred people were there as guests, servers, or entertainers. If the size of his house had said anything about the demon's wealth, this party certainly did- since it had been arranged the previous three days. Distant relatives from her family and Inuyasha's were in full formal attire- well at least all the relatives that knew about youkai and miko- congratulated the pair on their match. To both of their utter amazement, not one person seemed to be appalled by the pairing. Also in attendance were some of Inuyasha's `friends' from school, some of his old instructors, his boss for his new job placement, Kagome's new school principle, a few of her new instructors, and even a few of the council members- Ahayla, Gavan, and Sarah.

To Kagome, the celebration was either too short or far too long. Upon first exploration from her bonded, she was surprised to see two separate gift tables. When Kagome asked about it, Sesshoumaru stated that one was for wedding gifts and the other was for engagement gifts. Since the pair did not have an actual `human or demon' engagement nor the customary bachelorette/bachelor parties, these were the gifts to cover that. After that, she stopped asking questions.

Inuyasha, had the exact opposite opinion of the whole thing. It was too loud with music constantly blared out of speakers for people to dance. Occasionally, there were performances by acrobats, dancers, and singers to fill the time for the guests. What he hated the most were people constantly talking to him, and the majority of the comments were based on the proper ways to please one's mate. He didn't know whether he should kill some of them or just maim them very badly. His sanity, however, came in the form of one very beautiful girl, who looked as distressed as he, surrounded by giggling hordes of girls. Well, at least he wasn't the only one not getting tips.

She played the part of the blushing bride, very well, her face a permanent shade of red during the entire feast. She was thankful when dinner began, which started a whole new round of toasts, which apparently Inuyasha had to kiss her hand each time for. She was very thankful, though, as she would have died if this had been too much like a western culture wedding, where a real kiss would be demanded for each toast- which Sarah Lilac was very disappointed with as she wanted to see some `action.' The feast was uneventful, filled with performers dancing in the middle, and casual conversation. It was easy to speak in the company of her family members, knowing they wouldn't purposely see how red her cheeks could go.

She was also given the ample opportunity to meet her new niece, Rin. Rin was a human girl no more than five years old that was adopted by Sesshoumaru just this past year. Rin also had the readings of a possible low class miko. She was orphaned by the deaths of her parents in a car accident to which Sesshoumaru had immediately taken her in and named her as his own. Time and again, he would remark that she had better manners than that of his own brother. This, of course, sparked several `conversations' between the brothers, that Kagome had to break up.

Inuyasha, however, disliked the feast because of the company he held, also known as older brother Sesshoumaru. He ground his teeth every time his brother whispered to him to eat with proper manners and not to slouch. It was his damn reception, why couldn't he just be himself? Then he would look over at his mate, and found himself straightening his back and eating more slowly to avoid embarrassment for her. This, of course, would be answered by a discrete cough-like sinker from his brother. He was thankful when dinner was finished, but then the dreaded first dance came.

Thankfully, he knew how to dance, Kagome thought as he lead her through the steps. It was a little shaky as they attempted to move through a western style box step. She followed, well enough, and with her kimono covering her feet it helped to disguise the mistakes. She did have a lot of fun as the pair drifted into more traditional dances, which made it easier for her to move in her kimono set. It was during this time, that she enjoyed the whole thing even more. They actually had fun dancing together and with some other people as well. There was no wedding cake, but the party did end with a sweet dessert of cheese cake with cherry sauce.

~~~-~~~

Kagome was guided to stand upon a small stool, shortly after the reception had dwindled down. Much to her amusement, Inuyasha was dragged in by his brother, growling and swearing up a storm. He made very dog like sounds, mostly pitiful whines, as he struggled to break free from his brother's hold upon his collar. If anything, Kagome thought that Sesshoumaru looked rather smug with the whole affair. Personally, she was rather confused. Why did Sesshoumaru drag in her bonded when the servants were only going to be removing her kimono?

Sesshoumaru tossed Inuyasha, unceremoniously, into a chair. Inuyasha immediately sprang up, as if he had sat upon tacks, only to be flung down upon the chair again. "If you so much as move from this chair during the disrobing, you will lose all your vital organs for reproduction." He turned his gaze to Kagome. "It is demon tradition for the male Inu-youkai mate to observe the removal of the ceremonial garbs of the bride. It is a test to prove whether or not the male is strong enough or worthy of their intended."

He then turned back to Inuyasha. "Enjoy brother." He signaled for all the servants to leave, except two. "Normally the process takes less than twenty minutes. With only two servants, however, it will take at least an hour. I suggest that you not mess with my things next time, brother. Have a pleasant evening." He bowed and departed from the room, shutting the door with a resounding bang.

Inuyasha whined softly as he glanced at the door with a forlorn expression. He would have rather had a hole through his abdomen, like the last time he broke one of Sesshoumaru's priceless vases in the entry hall, than sit here and watch this. This was just unbelievably cruel, even for the sadistic full blooded demon. Not to mention that he, himself, had waited all day for this and now he would have to wait even longer.

Kagome was situated upon the small foot podium, as one servant began to remove the tabi socks and the in-house slippers upon her feet. The other moved toward the shoji screen that separated the sitting area from the bed chamber, closing the screen to hide the bed from her view. Another example of the amazing mixture of western and eastern architecture Sesshoumaru built his house in. She glanced toward Inuyasha, who fidgeted and shifted in his seat. Once the beginning tasks were completed, the servants turned on some soft lyrical music composed of koto, shou, hichiriki, and taiko instruments from the entertainment center located in the far right of the room. The music had the furry appendages upon her bonded's head twitching like crazy, and caused a soft smile to flint across her mouth.

Slowly the servants began to remove the Uchikake, for the second time that day. Despite his decision to not look, his gaze found its way to the disrobing of his mate. "How long did this take to put on?" Inuyasha asked, his voice strained and lower in tone as he watched the servants slowly fold the bright red uchikake and then proceed to fold the silk tie into a precise triangle shaped ball.

"Three hours, with four servants and my mother, but they had to adjust the various pieces into perfect positions and then tighten and readjust," Kagome answered.

Inuyasha whined again, his clawed hands moving to clench beneath the wooden chair, sinking the tips into the wood. He would lose control before long, and could possibly hurt his mate in the frenzy this process would create. With each layer and tie, the fingers dug deeper into the chair, his jaw clenching harder, as he tried to maintain some semblance of control. When they finally removed the final white layer of the kimono, revealing the crimson susojok, his claws slipped even deeper into the wood. There she stood in the red silk layer, the cloth barely falling half-way down her thighs with the red sleeves at the length brushing delicately against the curves of her body. He suddenly lost the ability to breathe and think properly. Kagome's skin flushed over, darkening the longer he continued to stare at her body. When the last of the clothing had been folded and placed into boxes, the servants turned her back to Inuyasha, and untied the susojok. They swiftly unhooked the hadajuban, the upper undergarment, before retying the nagajugan.

One servant put the binding into another box, as the other servant moved Kagome to a chair and began removing the makeup from her face. After that, her hair combs were removed, while the other opened the shoji screen to the bed, turning down the covers and checking the thermostat. When that was finished, the servant picked up a small hand bell and rang it. Instantly, the door to the room opened. Servants came in and took the boxes, podium, various other items, and turned the music off. In a moment, they all bowed and left the room as silently as they had entered.

Kagome swallowed a lump in her throat. Slowly, she turned her head toward her bonded to find him glaring at the door. His hands and arms were white against the black kimono, the haori already removed before he had been dragged in by his brother. It took her a moment to realize they were white from the strain and grip he had upon the chair. She observed the strong jaw line clench and unclench as the silence filled the room. His eyes resolutely focused on the wall, while his claws embedded further into the chair. His chest moved up and down at a rapid pace, but his ears swiveled in her direction. It was clear he was not going to make the first move. Slowly, she stood and started to walk toward him.

~~CITRUS to the end~~

"Don't come near me," he hissed between sharp gasps of breath.

She paused, confusion and pain clouded her features. "Why not?"

He turned to fix his glare upon her. "Because I don't want to… hurt… you."

She watched with undiluted amazement as his eyes flickered from gold to red and back again. Was this normal? Did his eyes change that way on purpose? Was it supposed to scare her, or heat her blood? Shaking her head, she made up her mind. With a glare of her to match his, she walked over to him with strong steady steps. "You won't hurt me."

He growled a threat, to which she ignored and pressed on to close the distance between them. He struggled to free his hands from the chair. "Yes, I will!" he snarled back.

It was then, she noticed the tent like structure in his hakama. With wide eyes of perceptive intelligence, she understood his predicament. His youki aura fluctuated and he physically struggled with the chair the closer she came to him. "Is there anything I can do?" she squeaked out.

"No. Just go to bed or something."

She shook her head. "I can't leave you like that. Not without feeling guilty." She stopped before him, a determined look upon her face. Her legs felt like jelly and her hands trembled slightly as she pushed his legs apart. She then straddled herself over one leg, her eyes never faltered from his own.

He began to struggle more, his movements accented by growls of displeasure. He had lost the ability to talk the moment she had touched him. The fact that her warm core was pressed snugly on top of his right leg did not help. He growled louder as she shifted upon it, to find a more comfortable position for what she was about to do.

She bowed her head down to hide her face from her bonded, as her hands reached down to his waist. With trembling fingers, she began to unknot the ties to his hakama. She stopped her task, as the chair tipped dangerously due to his struggles. She tipped her head up and kissed him gently on the corner of his mouth. "Be still, Inuyasha. If you move too much we both will end up injured." She kissed his nose, before she bowed her head once more to go about her task.

She had no idea what she was doing. She had never done anything of this sort, nor did she have an inkling how to accomplish the task. She did know, however, that she needed to help him release the strain placed on his body. She couldn't leave him to fix this himself, not now that she was his wife, his mate. It was part of her place to fulfill such duties as this, besides her soft heart wouldn't allow him to resort to such measures of relieving himself on his own.

Finally, the ties came loose, the hakama going slack. He started to struggle again, vicious growls ripped from his mouth. She ignored them still, concentration solely on her movements not his. Carefully, she maneuvered her right hand through the cloth of hakama and kimono to find skin, and the left hand yanked the hindering clothes out of the way. When her hand touched the heated flesh of his lower abdomen, he froze a moment, before he struggled even more.

It was the moment her burrowing hand touched his member that all movement ceased. With a small smirk upon her face, her right hand fisted around him as her left moved the clothing aside to free him. A choked sound slipped between his lips and she lifted her eyes to see if anything was wrong. His eyes were red, unfocused, and glazed over. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" she asked in a soft voice.

His answer was a helpless whimper and buck of his hips. When her head moved up, to focus upon him, his head turned, and his mouth crashed down upon hers in a violent, possessive way. His youkai sought domination, control, and sanity as he plundered the depths of her mouth and her soul. She yielded to him immediately, giving him that bit of control. Her hand clenched around him, and he growled into her mouth. His fangs grazed her lower lip, which caused her mouth to open, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

She was inflamed, consumed by the force of his response to her. No wonder he had been afraid that he would hurt her. The force of his passion to posses her mouth alone, left her breathless and limp. She forgot what it was like to take in normal breaths, lost in the feel of his scorching tongue battling her own inside her mouth. Her hand around his shaft clenched and unclenched as she struggled to find her control. When he broke away from her lips, she whimpered and lifted her eyes open, wonder of when they had even closed in the first place, to see his face.

His eyes were squeezed shut, his mouth open as he panted and groaned in rapid succession. He was lost in her touch, her scent, her taste. He could no longer control himself, lost in the haze of lust and heat. He leaned his head down, felt the girl run her hand up and down him- clenched squeezes in varying degrees along his length. It was enough to make him go insane at the slow torture of her hand stroking him. A brush of her fingernails scraping along the underside, snapped his eyes open as a jolt of pleasure ripped through him. She squeezed harder, her hands nearing his base, which caused him to buck slightly against her hand. He slowly opened his eyes a smidgen, blearily focused on the material sliding off of her shoulder, revealed his mark to him. Without thought, he leaned down and nuzzled the area with his nose.

Kagome gasped in surprise, feeling first his nose then his tongue and teeth grazing along her neck in a very hyper sensitive spot. She moaned slightly, and tilted her head to allow him the extra space. She forced her mind to return to her task in hand with great difficulty. Her left hand pressed itself against his abdomen, to give her a sense of grounding as she focused on her other hand. It was difficult to put description to how he felt between the fingers of her right hand. His member was hard, but not as hard as if one was squeezing a hand around a wrist. Nor was it soft like that of the tip of the nose or bottom of the ear. What she did comprehend, though, was that it was unbelievably warm, scalding hot to the chill of her fingers. The texture was smooth and rough, like that of normal flesh, but in a way it was a combination of velvet and silk. Slowly, she moved her hand faster along his length, up and down from base to tip and back again.

The faster she went the more he bucked himself against her, his mouth clenching over her mark. He couldn't breathe, couldn't compose a single thought except for "more." His hands dug into the chair harder and deeper, the wood of the chair splintering with each stroke of her hand and caress of the cool silk of her sleeve. He whimpered a pitiful sound that had his bonded moving faster with her hand, her scent filtering into his nose.

Kagome moaned as she moved her body along his thigh in time with her hand. She couldn't believe she was getting aroused by this. Then again, with the rough material rubbing against the apex of her spread legs, it was difficult to see how one could not at least get overheated. With the pressure of his mouth upon her neck, the bucking rough scratches between her legs, and the warm shaft between her fingers, she was utterly lost in a haze of lust. So lost she didn't even know what immediately happened next.

His mouth had opened over her shoulder at a particularly strong stroke, and he bared his fangs over his mark. As the fiery blaze within him finally cumulated into a large explosion of sensation he bit down harshly, feeling her blood spill into his mouth, as he came violently in her hand, spilling his seed over her hand, lower arm, and both their thighs. At the same time, the clenching of his hands had also become too strong upon release, and the chair shattered beneath them.

It was moments later that Kagome was brought out of her bite-induced ecstasy. Inuyasha still had his fangs in her neck, and seemed to be trying to regain his senses. She choked back a horrified giggle as she realized that they were upon the ground, pieces of the chair flung throughout the room. She winced hoping that the chair had not been some expensive, irreplaceable piece of furniture. She moved her hand from his member, noting that there was something slightly sticky on it. She stiffened, a heavy blush consumed her face.

Inuyasha removed his fangs from her neck, lapping at bite distractedly. He purred heavily in her ear, his arms now wrapped securely around her stiff form. He could smell his spent arousal, but to his utter surprise and ego, he also smelled her own mingled with his. The entire experience had been mind blowing, and had at least eased his youkai half for the moment. He, however, was far from done with her. Now that he was back in control, he had no qualms about ravaging her in his bed. With a movement he wasn't sure he should have been able to make on legs that felt like rubber, he leapt to his feet, girl and all, and carried them both off to the bed. With an amused smirk at her gasp, he tossed her onto the bed.

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Translation and Pronunciation Guide:

San San Kudo- (sah-n sah-n coo-doh) Three sets of three sips equals nine.

Ga Ga Ku-(gah-gah-coo) Ancient ceremonial court music.

Sakaki- (sah-kah-key) A sakaki. No English equivalent, but basically it is a type of blessed twigs of a tree used to be given to kami.

Koto-(koh-toh) Japanese "harp."

Shou- (show) Organ-like wind instrument.

Hichiriki- (he-che-re-key) Double reed gagaku Instrument.

Taiko- (ty-koh) Drum.