Author's note: This story contains spoilers for Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.
Mountain
1
They headed upriver early the next morning. Kuwabara was glad they didn't have to walk anywhere today. He was a little hung over. He spent the afternoon napping with Kirara on his lap. Shippo hated boats. He stayed close to the side at all times and the ladies took turns checking on the sick fox child. Kouga spent the day standing at the bow with his nose in the wind. Inuyasha and Miroku nodded off to sleep a few times themselves.
It was getting noticeably cooler the further up the river they went. The boatman told them of a village that they should come across tomorrow where they could get gear for venturing into the mountains. He let them off on the shore late in the afternoon light. He could take his boat no further. They disembarked and headed inland making the most of the remaining daylight. The terrain had become hilly and they made camp in a valley at dusk.
The guys sat together discussing provisions that they would need to acquire in the village for their trek up the snowy slopes. At some point Kuwabara grew bored with the conversation and started to riffle through his bag. He was pleasantly surprised to find his old Gameboy and a few games tucked away into a side pouch. There was even an unopened package of batteries. "Yes!" he exclaimed triumphantly pulling the game boy out of the bag. "I won't have to live without all modern conveniences!"
Miroku eyed the device Kuwabara was turning over in his hand. "What is that thing Kuwabara?"
"It's my Gameboy," Kuwabara was cramming the fresh batteries into the compartment. "I've got some good games too." He stuffed his hand back in the pouch and pulled out a game. To his delight all was in order and the game came on no problem. The other guys crowded around him a little for a better view of the screen.
"What is that?" Kouga said squinting at the screen.
"Slow your eyes down," Inuyasha advised. Kouga did and after a minute he could make out what was on the screen.
Sango went over and sat by Kuwabara peeking at the screen. "What is that thing? What does it do?" she asked the big red head.
"It's a game, you play it. Watch I'll show you." Kuwabara said holding the Gameboy out a little further so they could all see. The game began. "That's me and I gotta kill this guy," Kuwabara said manipulating the buttons. They watched fascinated as his "guy" beat the hell out of another "guy".
Kagome and Le sat together giggling at the display. "Hey Kagome, now that big brother over there is occupied, I'm taking a walk. I won't go far, but I think the village we're looking for is close. I'll just scout ahead a little."
Kagome looked at her friend nervously. "Are you sure you should go by yourself?"
"It's fine." Le got to her feet and backed into the forest before Kagome could say more.
It's not fine if Naraku is after you… She looked at the others watching the game. Kuwabara would probably get mad if I told him Le took off. If she's on the run, he'd never catch her anyway. Kouga could. He doesn't seem to mind looking after her either. Kagome picked up a small pebble from the forest floor. She had good aim and when she threw the pebble it bounced off the wolf demon's head and into the woods. Kouga looked up and Kagome caught his eye. She cut her eyes to her right to the place Le had been sitting and then back to Kouga. The wolf demon understood at once that the spirit warrior had taken off on her own. He nodded to Kagome and stepped back into the trees just as stealthily as Le had.
After a few minutes Inuyasha noticed Kouga's absence. He looked up and saw Kagome sitting alone in the fire light. He moved away from the pack around Kuwabara and went to Kagome. "She took off I take it," he asked in a hushed voice as he took a seat beside her.
"Kouga went after her."
"Kouga seems to go after her a lot," Inuyasha scoffed.
Kagome smiled. "I think he likes her."
"I guess."
"I think she likes him too."
Inuyasha faced Kagome. "What about Kurama?"
"What about him?" Kagome growled back. "He's a big jerk."
The hanyou recoiled. "Okay, sorry I brought it up. But you don't really think he," he jabbed a thumb in Kuwabara's direction, "would stand for Kouga putting a move on Le, do ya?"
Kagome watched the big guy absorbed in his game. "He just wants what is best for his friend. If being with Kouga made her happy, then I think he would get over it."
Inuyasha lifted a brow at Kagome. "What's with you and all this being together mushy stuff?"
Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes. Well, I am a teenage girl…
2
Le stood on the hillside looking down at a village beneath a canopy of stars. The moon, just past full, bathed the countryside in its silvery light. She stared at the dark huts secretly hating those who would be able to close their eyes tonight and sleep peacefully the whole night through. She already knew she wouldn't be sleeping well. It was getting late and she still didn't feel at all tired. Just sort of miserable. She thought about Kurama; the way his green eyes had seemed so cold and full of hurt, how he had squeezed her wrist tighter and tighter as the poisoned words shot out of his mouth slicing her up with their bitter edge. "Fuck it anyway," she grumbled to no one. She didn't have time for heartbreak and other such mushy stuff. She was back in the feudal area, aka demon central. Monsters could lurk behind any corner, the demon Naraku perhaps. This was a dangerous place and she didn't have time to be distracted by -
What was that noise? Le had been so wrapped up in her own internal argument she had failed to hear something moving through the long, swaying grass until it was nearly to her. She spun around of her heels in the direction of the sound, her heart leaping into her throat. Her panic fell flat when she saw Kouga walking toward her. She had thought that maybe at some point Kuwabara or Kagome (or probably both) would come looking for her, but she had not expected the wolf demon. I didn't hear him cuz he's so damn stealthy! He'd make one hell of a spy. The idea struck her as both ludicrous and hilarious at the same time. She tried to picture Kouga decked out like one of the infamous Men in Black and for a moment she could. Ray Ban's and all. She brought a hand up over her mouth and stifled the insane laughter that tried to spill out. She cleared her throat and pushed the silly thoughts away.
Kouga came over and stood a few feet in front of her. He studied her odd clothing of a far away era for a minute. Shorts made of something she called jeans. The foot gear called socks n sneakers that covered her feet from toe to ankle, Kagome's socks n sneakers came all the way up to her knee. Kouga wondered if people of different tribes in the modern era wore different socks n sneakers to distinguish themselves from other packs, or if it were more of a social thing. Le was a warrior, and claimed the big red head she had brought back with her was also a warrior. Kouga had noticed Kuwabara also wore short socks n sneakers. He had also noticed that they didn't match. One had a red band on top, the other a blue. Kouga wondered if this was significant. Le wore a black shirt with short sleeves and a picture of a single red rose on the front. There was writing on the front and some on the back, but Kouga couldn't make out what it said. The symbols were weird. He looked her in the eye. She had dropped her hand away from her face and he could see her quite well in the moonlight. "What are you doing?" he asked.
For a minute she didn't say anything. She was struck by the preternatural glow of his eyes in moonlight. She found it fascinating and wondered if he saw her eyes the same way. "Nothing," she replied turning around to face the village again. She sat down on the grass with her legs stretched out in front of her and her hands in the grass behind her. "So who sent ya?" she asked grimly. "Was it Kuwabara or Kagome?"
He stood looking down at her. "I noticed you gone so I came to find you." The truth was Kouga still felt badly for Le. Bad, and a little angry. The kitsune had yelled at her about him, had hurt her because of him. Maybe that's why I let her deck me… He was pretty sure that if Kurama had been in the vicinity when Kagome had given them the details of his fight with Le, Kouga would have beaten him within inches of his life. The anger left a bitter taste in his mouth. "It's not a good idea to be out alone after dark," he commented almost absentmindedly. Kouga sat down in the grass beside Le. It was cool and the smell was comforting.
"I didn't go far, besides, I can protect myself you know." She remembered what Kouga had said to her the night Kagura attacked. I will protect you, with my life if I have to. Le rubbed at her temple for a minute trying to clear her mind.
Kouga understood the trip back to her era had not been pleasant. The leader of her pack the big guy calls him Urameshi had scolded her for taking off without a word and for being gone so long. Kouga could understand that. He might feel the same way if Ginta went missing for better then a week. Lord Koinma, their master, had been cross with her as well. The wolf demon could understand their worry; he had men of his own. What got Kouga's blood up was that damn kitsune. Kurama had called him an animal. He had insulted the warrior woman sitting beside him, calling her names that most men reserved for women who sold or traded their body. The kitsune had accused her of mating with him among other things. He had never heard the phrase slob the knob before, and he was sorry he had interrupted Kagome's little speech to ask her what that meant. That fox has got some nerve the wolf demon thought hatefully. He turned his head to the right and looked at Le. "So I guess this is the village that the fisherman was talking about."
She looked past the village to the hill on the far side. The wind tossed her hair around her face. "I guess so," her voice trailed off to silence. She inhaled the clean, deep green scent of the wind.
"It's not too far." Kouga tried to stay casual. He didn't want to think about Kurama anymore or the way he must have twisted her wrist in his long, thin hand to leave the mark on her arm, he tried to let it go in his mind. Maybe sooner or later he'd meet up with the kitsune again. He'd worry about it then. Worry with his fists. Kouga could see a deer and her fawn emerge from the forest on the far side of the village. He watched in silence as they made their way cautiously down the hill to the brook.
Le shifted, drawing her legs in and sitting Indian style. She dropped her hands into her lap and stared out over the vista. She had settled things with Kouga last night, but it still bothered her. He had let her vent her anger on him. And I still haven't told him that if we do find a portal to demon world, we have to close it. "Kuwabara still playing his game?"
"He was when I left. It's kind of an interesting thing I guess."
She brushed the hair out of her eyes with a sweep of her right hand. "Too bad I didn't throw a book in my bag before I left home. My trade paperback copy of The Gunslinger maybe."
Kouga had listened to Kagome and Le talk enough to understand that books were where the people of the modern era hid their best stories. "Is it a good story?"
Le smiled. "Yeah it's great."
At least she's smiling again. Kouga found himself smiling back at her." So tell me, what's a paperback gunslinger?" He drew his own knees up so that he was sitting like Le, twisting a little so that he would be facing her.
Le liked where this conversation was going. She would much rather talk about Roland Deschain then think about her wayward ex or the caress of the demon beside her. Even if it was just a mild distraction from her current stress, it was a welcome one. The smile on her face felt real and satisfying. "Not a paperback gunslinger. A paperback book. A book with a soft cover. The gunslinger is a man, Roland Deschain of Gilead and last of the line of Eld," she annunciated strongly into the dark. If there were one thing in the world that Le could really get her mind around it was Stephen King's Dark Tower books. She had been a die hard "tower junkie" since reading the first line of the first book so many years ago.
Kouga shifted a little and tilted his head slightly. He was watching the wind sweep her hair back with mild fascination. His eyesight was near perfect in the dark and he could see every wind tossed hair on her head. He found himself curious to hear the story of the man the spirit detective seemed so taken with. But first, "What's a gunslinger?"
She stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out if he was just jerking her chain as he so often did. Le came to the conclusion he wasn't. She doubted a demon from feudal Japan had ever seen a hand gun, let alone something like the hard calibers her hero brandished. "Well, he's kinda like a samurai only instead of a sword, his weapon is a gun."
Kouga wrinkled his nose. "Okay, I get the warrior part, but I don't get the gun thing. Kind of an awkward weapon isn't it?"
"Not a rifle, it's a hand held…" She curled three fingers in each hand trying to figure out how to explain a gun. It was tougher than she expected. The NRA would certainly revoke her membership if they got wind of this, and if she had a membership of course. "Roland's guns are small enough to sit in holsters on his hip…" She stumbled over the words. Then an idea came to her that make her cheeks darken in the pale light. "I have a tattoo," she said quietly.
Kouga's curiosity was up. He had certainly never seen a tattoo on her body, and he thought he had seen a fair amount of her flesh. He smiled crookedly at her. "You have a tattoo?"
Her eyes sparkled with starlight. "Yeah. I got a little too trashed one night and… well... I have a tat of Roland's guns."
Kouga nodded, pleased. "Lemme see it then. Then I can picture his gun weapon in my head." His tone was matter- of- fact. It only made sense to at least see a drawing (for aren't all tattoos permanent drawings on the skin?) of the unfamiliar weapon.
Le's blush deepened. "It's kind of…in a private spot."
"What?" Kouga teased. "Is it on your ass or something?" He held back a laugh seeing her cheeks color in the dim light.
"Hardy har har," she sent back at him. Le stood up and her hand went to the button of her jean shorts. "I'll show you for educational purposes only mister man, but if you get smart with me I'll clobber you."
Kouga lifted a brow at her as she undid her button and her zipper. He knew she was still blushing, even though his eyes had left her face and were watching with a sort of mute excitement as she unfastened her short pants. He was only vaguely aware that his heart had picked up the pace in his chest and he was holding his breath. Her shorts slid off her hip and glided down her legs. She caught them between her knees. Her shirt came down and covered the top of her panties and Kouga swallowed hard. With one hand she yanked her shirt up to her middle and with the other she pulled one side of her pink bikini panties down off of her hip. To the right of her neat little patch of pubic hair was the tattoo. Kouga moved onto his knees and leaned in for a closer view. He studied the intricate little design. Two guns, barrels facing each other and crossed, fastened together by a single rose. Whoever had made this tattoo on Le had done a fabulous job. Every detail was perfect, right down to the trigger. A dreamy "Ahhh," escaped his lips. He couldn't help himself, Kouga had never seen anything quite like it, and he lifted a hand and touched the tattoo with the soft pad of his finger. "So this is his gun huh?"
Le was feeling wildly embarrassed. She could feel the heat in her cheeks. Kouga traced the guns and the rose with his finger tickling her a little and she giggled nervously. "Uh… Kouga?"
"Hmmm?" he sounded far away, focused on the neat little tattoo and the smooth texture of her skin. He breathed in her scent deeply as he knelt in front of her.
"Roland's guns. The hard calibers," she said trying not to feel him touching her. "Get it now?"
It suddenly dawned on Kouga that he was thoughtlessly pawing at her while she stood here in the chilly night air with her short pants down. The tattoo had distracted him, hell it had mesmerized him, but not quite as much as the warmth of her skin or her scent this close. He drew his hand back quickly. "Yeah, I get it now," he said feeling the heat rise in his face. "Hard calibers," he repeated her words.
Le tugged her shorts up with a jerk and refastened them quickly. "Roland's guns fit right in his hand, they don't have to be powdered or anything, they just fire," she spoke quickly trying to hide her nerves. "Bullets come out fast, faster then you could run."
Kouga's eyes widened at the thought. "Faster then me huh?" He shifted so he was sitting Indian style again.
Le sat next to him in the same way looking into his wondering eyes. "Roland is an expert with a gun. He's a gunslinger, the last of his kind."
"So then, it's a sad story?" he broached. All the stories Kouga had ever heard about "the last of his kind" had always ended in tragedy.
"Well no, not exactly. I mean, sure some sad stuff happens, but it's not all sad."
Kouga nodded. "I would hear this story of the last of Eld if you'll tell it." The wolf demon knew very few stories himself and found the good ones he had heard enthralling.
The smile on her face broadened. It was so strange and surreal to hear the wolf demon speak of her beloved Roland. "I'd love to," she nearly beamed. She cleared her throat and tried to be serious. "'The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.' That's how it starts; with Roland chasing after the wizard that he believes has some good info on the Dark Tower. See, Roland is trying to get to the Tower to fix what's wrong there and set things right in the worlds again."
They sat on the hillside for hours as Le told the tale of the gunslinger and his band of warriors, the ka tet of 19 and 99 Kouga listened to every word, fascinated. He could tell just by the way she spoke of the players in the story that Le had come to care for them as if they were really her friends over the years. He could smell Inuyasha come near once, but the hanyou retreated without coming over to them. Le hadn't noticed at all. She was telling Kouga about how the creature Oy trailed the boy Jake with the gunslinger under the poison city of Lud. She was spinning the tale of The Dark Tower.
Le stopped her story just as the characters were about to go through The Unfound Door. She looked at Kouga. "I guess this is where the sad stuff starts to happen." She sighed sadly and tilted her head up to stare at the moon. "Jake and Callahan end up being the ones that get sent to New York," she went on.
Kouga watched her in the moonlight as she told the tale. He could feel her sorrow when she talked her way through the parts where her characters began to die, one by one. She stopped for a long minute after telling him the bumbler creature said "I, Ake," Le sat quiet for a minute thinking about the boy with straw colored hair and then she pressed on, forcing herself to finish the tale now that she had begun. When she was finished, the two sat in silence thinking on what she had said.
Kouga nodded his approval. "I've heard stories about a realm like purgatory, sounds like your gunslinger is trapped there."
Le was still thinking about Jake. "Yeah, but not forever I don't think. I think that this is the loop we see Roland in because it's the one that made the change within him. He was rewarded with the Horn of Eld because he made progress. Maybe this next time… he won't let Jake fall."
Kouga sat thinking about it for a while. He noticed how far the moon had traveled across the sky since they had been sitting here. He faced the spirit warrior again. "I'm glad you shared your story with me," he said.
Le smiled a little. "It's not my story, its Stephen King's."
Kouga shook his head a little. "You hold the story close to your heart, like a treasure. That makes it yours. I'm sure that is what the scribe who wrote it wanted, don't you think?"
Le stared at Kouga. Though it was weird to hear Stephen King identified as a scribe, the wolf demon had a point. King really had finished The Dark Tower series for the fans just as much as himself. Le liked the idea of the story being like a treasure she held close to her heart and she smiled. "Yeah, I bet that was what he wanted. After all, it's all about the journey right?"
The wolf demon returned her smile. After a minute he got to his feet and stretched. "We should get back. Kuwabara is probably worrying about you."
Le stood up and brushed the loose grass off her backside. "I guess."
Kouga readied to go. "Hey Le, I really am happy you shared your treasure with me."
She smiled at the demon in the moonlight. "I was happy to," she replied and meant it. Kouga nodded and took off in a run with Le behind him.
3
They made a brief stop in the village in the morning to acquire some provisions. Parkas for all, it would be cold near the peak. Kuwabara also added a pick to his luggage. The females from the modern era had both put on long pants. Miroku spoke to one of the locals about the shrine they were seeking. The young woman told him a story of an old Shinto shrine high up the mountain. The shrine was abandon when the two guardian beasts protecting the entrance came to life and attacked a group of worshipers. "And no one has ever come back from that place alive in over one hundred years," the woman had whispered.
The village was to their backs before morning could get old. Inuyasha wanted to hurry. It was still early, but they were heading into cold, snowy territory. He wanted to make sure they could at least find a suitable shelter for the night. At these heights, night would be pretty cold. Had Inuyasha been born in the modern era he would have known the correct name for the thing he feared was called wind chill.
They moved on and the ground beneath them became frozen, then snow covered. Sango carried Kirara in her coat; Shippo hitched a ride on Kuwabara's big shoulder. Kagome had left her bike in the village and so they carried their gear. At mid day, snow clouds began to gather overhead. At least they diminished the harsh glare of sunlight off on the pure white snow. Kouga sniffed at the air. "Snow's coming."
Le looked up at the clouds. She had lived enough years in snow country to know what was on its way. "Shouldn't be too bad. Light stuff, a lot of powder. This place would be a snow boarder's wet dream."
"I tried that once," Kuwabara offered. "I fell and the stupid board came flying up and hit me in the back of my head."
Kagome giggled into her cold hand. "Were you okay Kuwabara?"
"Oh yeah, sure. I get hit in the head all the time. It doesn't even hurt anymore most of the time, although Urameshi can still hit pretty hard sometimes," he babbled.
Le and Sango were also hiding smiles behind frigid fingers. Inuyasha lifted a brow at Kuwabara. "You get hit in the head a lot?"
"Well, yeah. Fighting demons and bad guys and stuff."
Kouga rolled his eyes to look at the big red head. Le had told him about some of the monsters that team Urameshi had warred with. He couldn't help but wonder how strong and skilled Kuwabara really was. "Demons and bad guys huh?"
Kuwabara cut his eyes over to the wolf demon. "There are evil humans too, it's not always demons." He couldn't help but think of the former spirit detective Sensui.
"Evil humans, what a surprise," Kouga was cocky. He turned his head and looked at Le. "You wanna scout ahead with me or what?"
Le stepped away from Kagome. "Let's go." Kouga took off in a run and she followed.
Kuwabara watched his lil sis run off with the demon again. The two of them seemed to be spending a little too much time together as far as Kuwabara was concerned. Inuyasha hadn't brought them back last night because he said she was telling the wolf some weird story. Kuwabara had let it go at the time, just Le needing her Dark Tower fix. The big red head frowned. "You suppose we're close to this place yet?"
"Getting there," Inuyasha responded.
"Are you worried we will still be on the mountain come night?" Sango asked still keeping her eyes on the trail Kouga and Le left ahead.
"Naw man, I just wanna be done with this crap." Kuwabara let out a heavy sigh. He missed his video games, his fast food, even his sister picking on him.
Miroku stepped beside Kuwabara. "Do you not like the feudal era Kuwabara?"
Kuwabara shrugged his shoulders. "It's just kinda… boring. No TV, no arcades, no mega mall. And your ancient festivals are a rip off man, but at least the food was good."
Kagome giggled into her cold hand. "You're just too used to modern Japan is all," she assured. "The feudal era does take some getting used to. Why do you think I brought my bike?" She laughed a white puff of warm air into the wind.
"Fighting demons isn't boring," Inuyasha grumbled.
"I didn't say it was," Kuwabara scowled at the half dog.
Inuyasha stuck his nose up snobbishly. "I think your era stinks. It smells horrible."
"That's because of all the exhaust Inuyasha. I told you that before." She rolled her eyes to Kuwabara. "He never listens to anything I have to say."
"It's true," Shippo piped up from Kuwabara's shoulder. "Whenever Kagome tries to explain anything to Inuyasha he just ignores her."
Kuwabara fixed Kagome with a serious look. "And you guys are gonna get the jewel of four souls how? Are you guys a team or what?"
"I don't need any help," Inuyasha said at the same time Miroku said, "Of course we're a team."
Kuwabara shook his head. "Organized man. Jeez, can you guys get the jewel back from Naraku or what?"
"We'll get the jewel back," Inuyasha snapped. "I'd be getting it back right now if I didn't have to come here."
"Calm down Inuyasha," Miroku soothed. "We can't even find Naraku right now."
"I'll sniff him out," the hanyou growled.
Kagome laughed nervously. "Don't worry Kuwabara, we can handle it."
"Riiiight," he grumbled and returned his eyes to his lil sis's back trail.
4
Kouga led Le up a snowy embankment. From the top they could see the shrine in the distance. He looked from the shrine to the spirit warrior. She was practically buried in her parka, only her face was mostly visible. He smiled at her. "Looks like that's it."
"You sure?" she was frowning beneath her ridiculous hood, but she doubted he could tell.
He lifted an eyebrow at her. "You know of any other shrines around here?" he grumbled.
She looked up at him pulling her hood aside with one hand to favor him with a scowl. "Like I'm supposed to know what's in the mountains in fucking feudal Japan?"
"So it's fucking feudal Japan is it? You seem to say that when things don't go your way," he teased grinning.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kouga shrugged his shoulders. "Every morning with you it's the same thing. You wake up and say 'Fuckin feudal Japan and its no coffee bullshit'." He smiled as her frown faltered. "I'm guessing you don't like the mountains or the snow, ya know, the 'mountains in fucking feudal Japan'."
She was startled that not only had Kouga noticed such a thing about her, but that he had called her out on it! Well, he is a demon, he's more observant then a human and wolves are pretty smart… She waved a hand at him. "Aww who gives shit anyway. I just don't like freezing my ass off and the glare from the sun melted my eyeballs, that's all." She crossed her arms in front of her, her hands peeking out of her sleeves. Her hood flopped forward again and covered her left eye. She looked at it aggravated. "Fuckin feudal Japan and its crappy hoody bullshit," she grumbled.
Kouga tried his best to stifle a laugh. He grabbed the top of her hood and pulled it up for her but it just made the hood look more ridiculous. Kouga let go of the hood and burst into gales of laughter.
"Laugh it up fuzz ball," she growled. She brought her hands up and pushed her hood back with a sharp flick of her wrists. "I didn't know I'd be wearing a wookie. If I knew we were gonna be in cold town I woulda brought a winter coat. We have warm things like that in the civilized world."
"You're the one that looks like a fuzz ball. Are you saying that thing isn't keeping you warm?"
Le flat eyed Kouga. "Where the hell am I in this thing, huh? Who the hell did they make these things so big for? Giants? Huh? I think it must have been. This is a tent." She planted her fists somewhere on her hips and her sleeves swallowed her hands again.
Kouga stepped forward. "Drafty eh?"
"You could say that."
He reached over and grabbed her parka by the waist. He pulled it away from her to see how big it was. Kouga snickered. "There's room for me in there."
Her cold hand reached out and touched Kouga's arm. It was warm. "Okay but just till we warm up."
Kouga looked at her confused for a moment as she searched for the ties that held the wookie she was wearing closed. "Uhh…what are you… you want me to get in your coat?"
"Sure why not. I used to tuck my feet under the dog to warm em up when I was cold."
Kouga frowned. "I'm not a dog."
Le smiled. She had found and untied one knot and was working on the other. "Holding a kitty can warm ya up too."
"I'm not a cat either."
"No duh Kouga. But you're a nice warm body that can fit in here with me so I can get warm. Or are ya gonna be an evil demon and let me freeze my ass off?" Her smile had become a shark's grin.
"Humph," he stepped forward and pushed her hands away from the knot she was working on. They were freezing. "Maybe we ought to tie this wookie around you with some of that climbing rope your friend Kuwabara brought along." Kouga undid the knot and wiggled his way inside the parka. Her whole body was cold. He pulled her against him wrapping his arms around her back. "Jeez, you really are cold."
Le shivered a little. "But you're nice and warm!" She pulled her arms from their sleeves and wrapped them around Kouga. She rested a cold cheek on his shoulder. "It's the cold, that's why this is 'the mountains in fucking feudal Japan'. I hate the cold. I learned a long time ago that I won't freeze to death when mortals will."
Kouga hugged her a little tighter. He was willing to bet she learned that from experience. Waking up beside a dead mortal commerade at some point. "There's nothing to worry about. We're almost there and we can stay the night at the shrine. Head back down the mountain in the morning."
"Kuwabara…"
"Kuwabara will be fine. We'll build a big fire and all snuggle up. Ya think the big guy will get mad if he sees me climb in your coat?"
Le giggled a little and shivered against Kouga. "Yeah, he might get a little bent out of shape over something like that."
"Well he is here to protect you," Kouga couldn't resist teasing the spirit warrior. "He already knows you're madly in love with me. Probably worried about your virtue."
Le squeezed Kouga warningly. "Delusional as always wolf," she growled and shivered again. Kuwabara wasn't just here to protect her, he was here to take care of any doors that they may find opening on the maki. I suppose I should talk to Kouga about it soon, maybe after we get this dagger of his…
Kouga chuckled. "You're the one who just can resist pressing your body against me." That smart remark earned him a good pinch from Le. "Ow! Damn you're vicious woman!"
"And you're a smart ass."
Kouga slid his arms down to the small of her back and pulled her tighter against him. "You love it and you know it," he teased.
Le frowned up at Kouga. "Does it hurt carrying around an ego that big?"
Kouga grinned slyly at the spirit warrior. "Naw, besides my ego isn't the biggest part of my anatomy." He dropped her a wink and her frown was replaced by the look of surprise Kouga loved to see on her face. Her eyes were large and her cheeks were pink. Kouga burst out laughing.
Le turned her head sharply. "Humph! Like I care about that." She still held the image of Kouga in the hot spring vividly in her mind and the color in her cheeks deepened. "Men are such pigs."
Kouga opened his mouth to offer up a smart remark when his sharp hearing detected something. He turned his head toward the sound, toward the shrine. He sniffed at the wind as he listened. The wind wasn't much help, it was coming from the wrong direction, but, "You hear that?"
Le turned and looked in the direction Kouga was facing. "Hear what?" She was dimly aware that she had tightened her grip on the wolf demon. She didn't hear anything but…
Kouga heard it again and this time he was sure he knew what it was. "A howl," he said frowning at the shrine in the distance.
"A wolf?" she asked hopeful.
Kouga shook his head. "Naw, just something speaking wolf I think."
"Speaking wolf?" Le felt Kouga tense up in her arms.
"That howl was a challenge. Whatever is over there has seen or sensed us coming. It wants to fight." Kouga narrowed his eyes hoping to see just a little further. "So, it's a fight they want huh? You got it!" He broke away from Le and ducked out of her parka quickly. Kouga kicked up a swirl of snow as he charged toward the shrine.
"Kouga wait!" Le yelled too late. We don't know what the hell is up there stupid! She broke into a run chasing after Kouga with her parka flowing behind her like a sail in the wind.
To be continued in another chapter installment