~Their Salvation~

~Chapter 48~

"The air is fine out here again, Aia, Kaito, and Hana can rest peacefully." Sesshomaru spoke. He couldn't believe he was speaking to Yōki of all creatures, but he was. Yet, what surprised him, Yōki was willingly holding a conversation quite well, nor has he snapped or snarled at Sesshomaru.

"Hana cannot sleep, I tried." Yōki muttered.

"Do you blame her?" Sesshomaru asked. Yōki shook his head.

"I might take her on a walk, those seem to calm her. She needs to rest, she's exhausted." Yōki muttered.

"Will you two be alright on your own?" Sesshomaru asked. Yōki stood up.

"We'll be fine." He then walked over to Hana who sat next to A-Un who looked down at her worriedly.

"Kichōna." He spoke gaining her attention. He held out a hand so she took it, he helped her to her feet.

"Come, we need to talk." Hana nodded ever so slightly, he could sense it, she was nowhere near ok. This was one of the rare moments he wished to see her, not her aura, he could only guess how dull her eyes were. With that, they took off walking away from camp. The forest was now calm and looked less creepy to Hana, she was thankful. After some time, Yōki stopped making Hana stop as well.

"His scent, it's on places it shouldn't be." Yōki muttered. Did he want to bring Shi up? By no means. However, he had no choice when he not only smelled him on her neck but lower, much lower. Thankfully, he still smelled her innocence, he was thankful they got there when they did though he wished they got there sooner. Hana was silent, he didn't like this.

"Did he touch you?" He asked sternly, he needed an answer. Hana merely nodded, Yōki's blood boiled. He forced himself to calm down, though, she didn't need any more stress. He then guided her to sit beside him, well, kind of. She was nearly in his lap while he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"I'm so sorry, Kichōna. I promised I'd protect you and I couldn't get to you in time." Yōki whispered guiltily. Hana shifted to be closer as she looked up at him, she frowned.

"Yōki, it's not your fault." She whispered softly trying to soothe him. Yōki nuzzled her gently, his hand tracing her arm, then her side. He was both soothing her and covering Shi's scent. Hana, being well aware of this, let him. Yōki pressed his body against hers gently trying to take in every inch of her, after this, he already knew he'd be a nervous wreck and so would Inuyasha. Hana would be lucky if she could bathe without him at least being close by, as in, right there but faced away.

"Y-Yōki?" Hana muttered making him open his eyes and look down at her.

"Yes?" He asked softly.

"If Shi did mark me, would I have been stuck with him forever? I mean, I barely got lucky the first time I was marked." Hana asked, then pointed out. Yōki didn't know how to answer. It was an obvious yes, but he didn't even want to say it fearing he'd growl it out by mistake. So, he merely nuzzled her shoulder.

"He's gone, Kichōna, I promise." He whispered. Hana nodded.

"What about you?" Yōki looked at her confused.

"If you marked me." She clarified. Yōki thought for a moment, he had to, he wanted to. He didn't care what Inuyasha had to say anymore. He let out a heavy sigh.

"You'll be mine, forever." He explained simply. He then leaned down taking in her scent. His lips grazed the crook of her neck, it was open to him, she didn't push him away. He parted his lips as he gently licked her neck making her flinch, she still didn't resist, just as he guessed. He knew Hana well, he knew how she felt for him and Inuyasha, he was confident in her as a mate.

"C-Care to explain why you called me a bitch?" Hana breathed out, her face was hot. She'd never been, y'know, licked on the neck before.

"Please do not feel offended, Kichōna, it is what our kind call our mates." Yōki explained before licking once more. Hana nodded as she shivered and closed her eyes. His hand roamed from her side to her thigh testing his limits, it seemed as though she opened himself to him, she didn't even flinch. He parted his lips more, then sunk his fangs into her neck making her jolt and whimper softly. He didn't like inflicting pain on his bitch, but he had no choice. He slowly pulled back licking her wound gently, her blood tasted sweet to him. Hana let out a heavy breath and he gently licked and even sucked on her neck, it felt odd, but she liked it. She held onto his sleeve while he worked on her body, he even made her lay down below him. However, he slowly pulled away before going too far.

"I love you, Kichōna, and I'm sorry we cannot go any further. How I wish to map out your whole body, learn every inch of you. But, it is not the time to do so." Yōki muttered softly before nuzzling her gently. Hana smiled, her heart was racing. He always said how divine she was, or how he adored her, but he never said he loved her. If she were honest, it took a lot of strength to not tear up.

"I love you too, Yōki." She whispered. His ears perked up, his heart racing. He smiled as he lowered himself gently to lay on her, though, he still held most of his weight on his him so he didn't crush her. Hana giggled and wrapped her arms around him gently petting him. Yōki closed his eyes and nuzzled into her chest gently, he was content, this is all he wanted.

"We can't stay long, we need to find Hahanaru Shizen." Hana spoke after a bit of silence. Yōki sighed as he pushed himself back up to hover over her.

"Yeah, and when we get back to the village, I'm taking you home. You need a break." Yōki said before sitting up nearly straddling her. Hana nodded loving the idea of going home right about now as she sat up too. Yōki hesitated for a moment, then took another daring move. He leaned down and placed his lips on her's closing his eyes. Hana's eyes widened for a moment then they slowly closed as she melted into the kiss. Yōki finally pulled back.

"Let's go?" He asked.

"Yeah."