It was another day, which meant another long trek for the small group searching for the shards of the Sacred Jewel, and by extension the foul demon who sought to take it for his own. These mornings had become all but routine: the first of the group to awaken was Inuyasha, whose sensitive eyes and ears did not allow him to ignore the sounds cued by the sun beginning to warm the earth. He in turn would awaken Shippo, and send the young fox off to find something to eat. Shippo complained, as he always did, and their voices would cause Kirara's ears to twitch and breathing pattern to shift. The small movements caused Sango to sit up and rub her eyes, reaching out with her other hand to nudge Miroku. Kagome was the one to wake up last on days like this, and with a firm stare she managed to calm the atmosphere and get the company back into order.
Breakfast came and went, and now came the real meat of the day: walking. Each morning before they set off, Kagome would focus hard on the dark energy put off by the Shikon Jewel, and once she found some she was able to direct her friends in which way to go. While the endless journey was monotonous at most times, something would always happen eventually to make things more exciting.
On this particular day, that excitement came in the form of three wolf demons. Kouga's tell-tale whirlwind appeared on the horizon and swiftly approached, much to Inuyasha's chagrin. He was flanked by his two underlings, Ginta and Hakaku, who were begging him to slow down, as usual, and summarily had their pleas ignored.
"Hey, Kagome!" Kouga announced, coming to a halt directly in front of the human girl. "How's my woman doing today?"
Kagome barely managed to start saying hello before Inuyasha butted in with, "She's not your woman!" She glared at the hanyou, because she did not belong to anyone.
"Well, she sure as hell isn't yours! I love Kagome, she's my one!" The ookami announced this proudly, thumbing his chest. "I've known it from the moment I met her."
Inuyasha's face suddenly flushed a deep red, in anger and embarrassment. "You can't just say that out of nowhere, you scrawny wolf! I bet your heart is so full of love for your own stupid head, there's no room for anyone else in it."
Now it was Kouga's turn to redden. "Hey! Is she your koishī, then?"
"My what?"
"You know exactly what I mean, mutt! Unless she's your koishī, you have no right to try and pull Kagome away from me."
The tension between these two men was so tense, one could slice through it with a knife. Kagome stepped in now, trying to soothe them both. "I belong to myself, and no one else! I don't appreciate you acting like I'm somebody's possession."
Kouga sighed, and clasped Kagome's small hands between his calloused ones. "You're right, Kagome. You don't belong to anybody. But I want you to know that you are my darling, and that will never change, no matter what anybody else says. And unless you know in your heart that the dumb mutt is your dearest, and that you are his, I'll stay by your side every day until you feel that I am the one for you."
The girl blushed at his words, not expecting to hear something so understanding coming from the wolf demon. "Wow, Kouga-kun, I…"
"It's alright. You don't need to say anything right now. Just take your time and think, okay?" He whisked off for a moment, returning just as quickly with a white flower. "When you make your choice, just call for me, and I will be right there for you." His claws deftly tuck the stem into the locks of her hair, and he lets the inside of his palm brush over her cheek as he drew away. "Come on, guys, let's move!" With that announcement, Kouga began to move, and was half a kilometer down the road before his comrades had even begun running.
For the next few days, Kagome found herself to be more quiet and introspective than usual. She had no idea what Kouga meant when referring to her as his "koishī", for she had never heard that word being used in that context before. When she had asked Sango what it meant, the demon slayer had nary a clue.
"I've never heard of a demon referring to somebody as their dearest one. But, by his actions, it seems very obvious to me that Kouga is absolutely smitten with you." Sango pondered the ookami's words, finding them to be mystifying.
"Smitten?!" Kagome squealed, her face going bright pink. "No way, Sango, you've got it all wrong! He only likes me because I can sense where the Jewel shards are, and he only comes to see me so often because he knows he'll get a reaction out of Inuyasha…"
"No, it seems more than that. Kouga acts like this because he really does love you."
"If Kouga truly loved me, I'm sure he'd never leave my side. He'd be here with me, all the time, keeping me safe from harm like Inuyasha does. I'm sure he would never let me be alone…like Inuyasha… He wouldn't treat me like I'm a pest, like Inuyasha does… He'd compliment my cooking…unlike Inuyasha!" Kagome quickly cut herself off before she spiraled into a full-blown rant.
"Kagome…" Sango stepped forward, and placed her hand upon Kagome's shoulder. "If you are really so bothered by the things that Inuyasha does, why do you keep letting him do them?"
"It's not that I just let him walk all over me, I just… Inuyasha always seems like he has something more important on his mind. He's always thinking, and he's gone through so much in his life that he's obviously been deeply affected by. I don't want to cause a fight with him, not like this." The young girl pulled away from her friend's gentle touch, and walks quickly up ahead to the rest of the group.
Miroku greeted her with a smile, Shippo hitching a ride atop his shoulder. "Ah, Kagome-sama. Are we discussing the incident between our two canine friends?" The monk asked slyly, gesturing towards the final member. Inuyasha was still a few paces ahead, hands folded together behind his head and elbows pointed forward. He appeared to not be listening. "I daresay, it was quite rude for Inuyasha to try and interrupt such a passionate exchange of words."
Kagome blinked, she must not have noticed how Inuyasha was reacting as Kouga spoke to her. "He did…?"
"Oh yes, Sango and I had to hold him back to keep him from unleashing the Tetsaiga and blowing Kouga away!"
"Yeah, he was seething mad." Shippo chuckled, a devilish grin crossing his face. "If I didn't know any better, I think that Inuyasha really likes you, and doesn't want you to get swept away right from under his nose!"
As if given a signal, Inuyasha whipped around and launched a nearby rock directly towards the kitsune's head. "What the hell did you just say, you little brat?!"
Shippo screamed, leaping off his perch and scrambling for cover behind Kagome. "I said that the only reason you hate Kouga so much is because you like Kagome!" He peered out from behind her legs, tiny paws grasping her socks for dear life.
"Shippo…come over here so I can tell you what I really think of Kagome." The dog hanyou crouched down, brows lowered in obvious disgust. Shippo rapidly shook his head, not wanting to risk his wrath. "Come on, it'll be quick… I'll just tear off that fluffy little tail of yours."
"Osuwari!" The word leapt from Kagome's lips without a second thought, sending Inuyasha crashing into the ground with a yelp. "Don't you dare pick a fight with Shippo. If you want to tell someone how you feel about me, then you should tell me!"
"Why should I tell you anything?!" His protest was muffled from where his face was crushed into the dirt.
"Because your feelings are about me, idiot! Just spit them out already!"
"FINE!" Inuyasha roared, leaping back up to his feet. "Kagome, you're not my koishi!"
The girl felt like her heart had been pierced by an arrow and shattered into thousands of pieces, just as the Shikon Jewel had. "Oh…" Was all she managed to get out, before her eyes began to sting and her feet instinctively carried her away.
