Title: It All Comes Down to This
Author: SakuraRyuu
Rating: K
Genre: Canon, Angst, Friendship
Characters: Inuyasha, Kagome, Koga
Author's Note: Inuyasha and all characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Kouga sat on the bolder, arms dangling loosely over his knees at the elbow, head hung down between his shoulders.
"Well, slick," he thought, "what a fine mess we have gotten ourselves into this early morning." This had been his first coherent thought since he left Kagome a short while ago.
Kouga had come across Kagome wandering aimlessly through the woods, in tears because InuYasha had snuck off from the campsite in the dead of night to follow Kikyou's soul collectors to her. The soul collector's bright light had awoken her, and as was customary when she found them but no InuYasha, so followed quietly as well. As always, she found InuYasha with Kikyou and Kikyou was a bit too close to the hanyou for Kagome's comfort, however, said hanyou did not seem to mind. From what Kagome had over-heard quite clearly they were discussing InuYasha's self imposed pledge to avenge Kikyou's death and Kikyou was still pushing the issue of InuYasha going to Hell with her. Kagome found InuYasha still felt he owed Kikyou his life. With that being said, Kagome's heart lurched painfully in her chest, and she turned to run.
Kagome felt betrayed in the worst way. She felt she had finally begun to gain some ground with the emotionally stunted InuYasha. InuYasha was gradually becoming less and less crass with Kagome and as a result she felt they were becoming closer. Kagome had also noticed InuYasha was becoming a bit more protectively possessive of her, which she didn't seem to mind so much as she saw it as his way of saying he cared a bit more than he used to. Kagome felt that InuYasha was finally realizing there was something to live for instead of nothing to die for.
Even though Kagome realized she and InuYasha were in no way a couple, she felt their relationship was starting to turn in that direction. Based on InuYasha's actions she thought he might possibly be on the same page as she was. So finding InuYasha with Kikyou the way Kagome did is not what surprised or hurt her. This was a scenario she had grown accustomed to. What caused Kagome's heart to painfully skip a beat was seeing InuYasha accept Kikyou being so close to him, and realizing InuYasha still accepted Kikyou's idea of Hell with them together as his only fate.
So, Kagome left them. She just turned and ran. She had cried so much over this exact situation time and time again there was nothing left to cry about. No sobbing uncontrollably, no hiccupping, no gut wrenching screams. Just quiet tears accompanied by the need to get as much distance between herself, camp, and the couple as possible as quietly as she could.
Kagome had been in the feudal era long enough to know how to move quietly through the woods, although compared to a demon she could hardly be called stealth. If the demon is preoccupied he would never hear her leave and that was what Kagome was hoping for when she left. She knew InuYasha could track her and probably would once he had discovered she was not at camp, so Kagome used nature to cover her trail. The group had camped close to a stream so Kagome ran for that, and once found it, ran parallel to it for quite a distance. Once Kagome was certain the splashing would not draw attention to herself she took to the water, running in the stream most of the way. When she thought her trail was lost Kagome left the stream on the opposite side, took her soaked socks and shoes off to carry, and began to wander through the woods with no intended destination other than "away."
This was how Kouga had found her. Barefoot and muddy, tears sliding down her cheeks, head hanging without the usual accompaniment of at least one pack mate. Kouga knew this could only mean InuYasha had left her unguarded and uncared for again to sneak off in the night to be with the dead miko. He had heard of InuYasha doing such a thing in the past but frankly, the concept made no sense to Kouga. Kagome was powerful, passionate, loyal, brave, trustworthy, beautiful, intelligent and alive. A fine choice in a mate by Kouga's standards. In comparison the dead miko was just that. Dead. Whatever she had been in life was irrelevant.
"Baka," Kouga had thought. InuYasha had no idea what he had. And if he did, he certainly did not know how to treat her as far as Kouga was concerned.
Kouga took his claim on Kagome as his intended mate very seriously. He left her with InuYasha's pack because she served a purpose there and he understood her quest was very important to her. He was not going to be able to formally court Kagome until Naraku was destroyed. Kouga also was not going to force Kagome to make any choices about pack until then, either. It seemed so many lives hung in the balance, and no one would be able to move forward until Naraku ceased to exist.
Kouga had approached Kagome with the intention of comforting her. He wanted her to realize there was more to him than the "breeze in, flatter you and breeze back out" front her presented her with. He wanted to be there for Kagome. Kouga wanted her to see him as a friend she could depend on. Kouga wanted Kagome to accept him as pack in the same way she accepted her companions, and in the same way his small clan accepted her.
Kagome had not been upset as much as she had simply been sad. Kouga could tell this situation was something Kagome had become accustomed to by her reaction. As she talked with him, she calmly stated what she saw and what had been said. Kagome told Kouga what she had thought about the changes in the relationship she had with InuYasha and how she felt nothing had really changed at all. The only clues to how she was being affected were the sadness in how she carried herself and the tears that kept sliding down her cheeks.
So, Kouga did the only thing he knew how to do. He sat quietly and let Kagome talk. When she asked him what he thought he answered her honestly. Kouga did not try to take advantage of Kagome by swaying her thoughts or forcing himself on her. He simply let her express herself and he supported her. If Kagome was going to come to him Kouga wanted her to come to him on her own, with no reservations, no regrets and no second thoughts, because she wanted him as her mate. Under no circumstances did Kouga want to sway Kagome to come with him while she was at her weakest only to retract the decision later.
Kagome eventually talked herself out. There was no more to go over in her head; there was nothing left she felt she had to hash out. She knew her commitment was to Sango, Miroku, Shippou and InuYasha until the Shikon no Tama was completed and Naraku was destroyed. After that she had no plan. So, Kagome resigned herself to her commitments and was going back to camp to continue her journey. Kouga went with her, following the stream until he was able to pick up her scent from where Kagome had entered it while running from InuYasha and her pack. Once the campfire was in sight Kagome insisted Kouga leave her to go back to camp on her own to avoid another all too familiar situation with InuYasha. Kouga reluctantly did as Kagome asked but insisted on staying put until he saw her enter camp. Kagome thanked him for all he had done for her that evening and told Kouga she was glad to have such a steadfast and true friend. Then Kagome reached up and lightly put her fingertips along the edge of Kouga's jaw, turning his head slightly, to place a sweet kiss on his cheek. Kouga breathed in deeply, catching Kagome's scent on the slight breeze. Before he knew it the moment was over and Kagome was walking away.
Between hearing Kagome's acceptance of him, feeling her fingertips on his jaw and her lips on his cheek, and being close enough to smell her, Kouga realized he was done for. He never fancied himself one to fall in love but low and behold his intended mate had sealed his doom with such friendly gestures. So, Kouga sat down on the nearest bolder, arms dangling loosely over his knees at the elbow, head hung down between his shoulders and waited for sunrise. He thought quietly to himself, "Well, slick, what a fine mess we have gotten ourselves into this early morning."