Author's Note: We will begin this story from the end of the episode "The Man Who Fell in Love with Kagome" where Inuyasha killed the Birds of Paradise and challenged Koga. Many episodes have great "what ifs" and this what I came up with as I watched this episode.

-This is also my first Inuyasha story and not being beta'd, so any mistakes are my own and please forgive any mistakes you may see. I would love to know what you, the readers, think of it, so leave me some love in the form of a review or if you spot a mistake, let me know as well. ありがとうございます！

-Internal dialogue will be in italics. I'll have some Japanese words in the story because the English doesn't translate exactly. Japanese is quite confusing (even after taking it for years, my Japanese is quite rusty), even my mother, whom is fluent in Japanese and English (though sometimes it's Engrish) can't explain to me the literal meaning of Japanese phrases. One example from the series is after Koga declares that he loves Kagome, and she senses a jewel. She calls Koga as Koga-kun and not Koga-san. –kun is more familiar than –san but how would that be translated into English? The point is that it can't, and therefore, many times, things get lost in translation. However, there will not be too much, just some words here and there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make any money from this story.

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Dream Brightly

'The Man Who Fell in Love with Kagome'

"Now then," Inuyasha started, confident. She could here the swagger in his voice. Though she liked it when Inuyasha was confident, sometimes, like now, it grated her nerves. "We've gotten rid of those pesky birds. So, let's settle this once and for all," he continued, pushing through the wolf pack.

The warmth from Koga's body penetrated her arms and though the hold was intimate, she didn't feel embarrassed. Perhaps her brain knew that Koga was injured, and didn't have time to consider the almost romantic embrace. Inuyasha's stunned response to their embrace pricked her irritation and she almost 'sat' him then. Her retort of 'I'm not hugging him!' almost left her lips but instead she shouted about Inuyasha's ridiculous challenge and his timing.

At her shout, Koga shifted out of her arms. The immediate loss of warmth chilled Kagome as Koga pulled away from her. "This is nothing," Koga hissed. She could see that he was putting a brave front for her and she did admire that but sometimes she wondered why boys did that. Maybe it was something ingrained in their DNA. Would it be so bad to show weakness once and a while?

"Koga-kun, hang on," she responded. The use of kun with Koga's name came naturally and she didn't have time to decipher why she said it again but she did steal a glance at Inuyasha to see if he caught it but he seemed to be stuck on the fact that she defended him.

"I can kill the likes of you with just my left arm!" Koga stated, pushing himself into a standing position.

That broke Inuyasha from his musings and Kagome could see anger in his eyes now. "Are you still insulting me?" Inuyasha yelled. "Prepare yourself!" he shouted, launching himself at Koga.

Kagome couldn't believe it! She had just scolded him for picking a fight with the injured Koga and now, he was ignoring her. Inuyasha baka! Just like any other time Inuyasha pissed her off, she shouted those dreaded words. "Inuyasha, sit!"

The beads glowed as they heard her command, and yanked Inuyasha into the ground. A collective gasp ran through the crowd as Inuyasha grunted in pain. At that time, Koga let out a pained noise as he dropped to his knees.

"Make your escape now! Hurry!" she said to Koga's pack. Though she had initially sat Inuyasha to stop him from hurting Koga further, she knew that this was the perfect time for Koga to get away. Inuyasha wouldn't be too happy with her and she didn't know what would happen to Koga once the hanyou got up.

They realized what she was trying to do and gathered Koga. Inuyasha called out for them, but the wolf pack ignored him and left. Kagome watched as they disappeared. Though she was relieved it was over, she glanced at her right hand, which had Koga's dried blood. She could feel Inuyasha come up behind her.

"Why'd you let him go?" Inuyasha asked, quietly.

Startled at his soft tone, she turned her head to glance at Inuyasha. "Well, he was hurt and he actually wasn't that bad."

Inuyasha's brows narrowed, and she knew he was angry. "Not bad?" he spat. "Cut the jokes! Weren't you kidnapped and almost killed?"

It was true but she didn't feel anger about what happened to her. Looking at Inuyasha, she could see Inuyasha shaking with anger. Why was he so upset? She was the victim here. "Well yes, but he did protect me too." Once those words left, she felt a twinge of embarrassment, leading to her toying with her fingers nervously. It was an instinctual habit, usually when she was embarrassed about something dealing with the opposite sex. She couldn't help it! Not only was her experience with guys lacking but also most of her experience often dealt with Inuyasha and majority of the time he just made her upset. The times when she wasn't, she didn't know what she felt for the hanyou. She's never been in love; she couldn't rely on experience to tell her what she's been feeling.

"So, you fell in love with him?" Sango wondered curiously.

"Well, after he declared his love so boldly, how could she hate him?" Miroku chimed in. This seemed to make Inuyasha more upset, but she barely noticed and instead reflected on Sango and Miroku's words. Did she love him? No, she didn't but she didn't hate him.

Finally, Inuyasha snapped, calling her stupid before turning his back to her. Looking up, she looked at Inuyasha's back. He continued to ignore her and she didn't know why but stung her. After a few tense moments, she realized he wasn't going to talk to her soon. Realizing that the sun would be up soon, she went over to where the two Shikon no Tama fragments rested and grabbed one. Miroku also knelt down, Sango right behind him.

"The Bird of Paradise had one piece…" Miroku commented.

"…Koga-kun had the other one in his right arm," Kagome finished.

"Won't he come back for it?" Sango asked.

"Probably," Miroku answered, turning to glance at Sango.

She knew that was a definite possibility. The shards were highly sought and the power boosts granted from them were exponential and having that power then losing it had to be a severe blow to Koga. She wasn't worried about losing the fragment but what would happen when Koga and Inuyasha meet again.

"When Koga-kun and Inuyasha meet the next time will they start fighting again?" she mused aloud.

"Kagome-chan, go and put Inuyasha's mind at ease," Sango suggested. Startled, Kagome turned to look back at Inuyasha, who was still sitting with his back to her. "He was so worried about you."

"I pity him the way he is," Miroku said.

Worried? Kagome felt bad that she caused Inuyasha to worry about her. Walking to him, she stopped when she was next to him. "Hey Inuyasha, I'm sorry I worried you. Thank you for saving me," she said. She was grateful for Inuyasha and all he's done for her. For reasons she didn't understand, Inuyasha chose to save her repeatedly. In this era, without Inuyasha's help, she wouldn't have made it far and she wanted him to know that she was grateful for his help.

He turned his head away as she knelt down. "Wouldn't you have preferred that I didn't save you?" he said, mockingly. "Taken in by his sweet words"

"Sweet words? Because he said he loved me?" she asked, surprised. Seeing his shoulders tense, she could almost see his scowl. "Is that what's bothering you?" she asked.

Kagome jumped as Inuyasha leapt to his feet. "What're you saying? Nothing is bothering me!" he yelled.

It is bothering you. Despite his words, his tone and defensiveness clearly told her the opposite of what he was saying and it made her upset. She didn't want Inuyasha to think of her differently; she wanted to ease his mind.

"Let me make one thing clear. I don't feel anything for Koga!" she stated. It was true, Kagome may think he was cute but she wasn't the type to fall in love someone on first site.

"Keh! I didn't ask that!" he shouted, before turning around and crossing his arms. "Forget it! Let's not talk about it anymore!"

Kagome let out a sigh and she wondered why Inuyasha didn't believe her. She was about to leave when he turned back to her. "Ooi. What really happened between you two?"

It took a second to register his question. Did he really just ask me that? She could feel the anger rising steadily. Any feelings of appreciation disappeared as her anger swelled. First he doesn't believe me and now he thinks I'm some sort of… she calmed herself just to give him the sweetest smile she could muster. "Inuyasha…" she said sweetly. He would fear her wrath… "Just what are you suspecting me of?" she yelled. "Is that how you've been seeing me?"

Her sudden switch from sweet to scary sent Inuyasha reeling back from her. He looked shocked and scared. Good, let him be scared.

He came back to her, his face getting close. "W-what're you scolding me for?!" he countered.

She didn't think she could be more upset but she was wrong. "Because you've totally misunderstood!"

"Shaddup! I don't wanna see your face anymore! Just go away!" he yelled.

She felt a slight twinge in her chest but she was determined to not let his stupid words affect her. Masking her hurt and rage with a nonchalant look, Kagome responded with a flat, "I see." Turning to Sango, she asked if she could borrow Kirara. If Inubaka wanted her gone, she was going!

"What're you going to do?" Sango asked.

"Keh! Planning to go to Koga?" Inuyasha sneered.

Just when her blood pressure and anger had diminished, they swelled furiously at his words. Grinding her teeth, her fists clenched tightly, so tight she could feel her nails breaking skin; she whipped around and fixed Inuyasha with an angry glare. "I'm going back home!" she yelled. "Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!" with that, she twirled around, grabbed her backpack and went to Sango.

"Please Sango, I need to get away," she asked quietly. "Before I you-know-what Inuyasha into oblivion." Sango offered her a smile and a nod before turning to give Kirara over. Kirara transformed and Kagome hauled herself onto Kirara's back and they set off.

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The ride was silent as she stewed over Inuyasha's words. Baka! How dare he suggest that I would do anything? Does he think I'm that sort of girl?! She didn't realize she was clenching her fists again, and she released her fist, hissing in pain as her nails came out of her skin. Inuyasha could be sweet sometimes but the other times he made her so mad she felt like ripping out her hair! She had never lost her temper like that before; he somehow brought out the worst in her. But he's totally different with Kikyo… Her mind drifted back to what happened not too long ago. Though everything had returned to normal, she didn't forget what was shown to her. Hurt flooded her body and settled in her chest. As she glanced it her palm, her crescent shaped wounds and Koga's dried blood broke her out of her depressing thoughts.

She did intend to go back to her time after her fight with Inuyasha, but there was a voice in her head, a worried voice, reminding her that Koga was injured and it seemed bad when she looked at the blood on her palm again. Though he did kidnap her, like she said, she didn't have hate for him. Just like Inuyasha, whom tried to kill her on their first meeting, she knew she couldn't judge Koga too harshly. Glancing at the dried blood on her hand again, she made a decision to visit Koga, especially since she had her bag and could care for his wound.

Leaning over to Kirara's ear, she asked the neko demon to change course and head to Koga's den. Following the scent of blood, Kirara veered left. They traveled for a while before she saw the waterfall. She could here them shouting as Kirara came closer and descended at the mouth of the cave.

"Kagome-neechan!"

She climbed from Kirara's back as Ginta came up. Their nickname for her made her smile. "Ginta! I've come to see Koga," she stated. He looked surprised at her words. He nodded and headed into the cave. She followed closely behind. Despite the warning that Koga gave earlier, Kagome was still afraid being in a den of wolves. This was something new and out of her comfort zone. She clutched her bag closer and tried not to be afraid. Can't animals smell fear? Can they smell my fear? Can they smell anything besides my stinky pits? She gave an experimental sniff and almost gagged. Bath, she was in desperate need of it.

Finally, they arrive to where Koga was resting. With eyes close, he looked peaceful in his sleep. When she got closer, his nose twitched and his eyes opened. I guess that proves the stink theory. Disconcerted that her odor was obvious, she pushed that thought aside as he gave her a fanged smile.

"Kagome-san, I knew you couldn't resist me," he said, giving her a smirk. He was up in an instant and by her side, faster than she could react, Koga's arms encircled around her, drawing her close. She blushed as he held her tight, a cocky smile on his lips.

"Eh, let's give them some space," Ginta whispered to the others. They left the cave, leaving Kagome alone with Koga.

"Now, that we're alone Kagome…" he whispered, his face coming closer to hers. Panicked, she squirmed away from him and fixed him with a glare.

"Koga-kun! That's not why I'm here," she explained as she gave him a wary look. Koga raised an eyebrow as she dug into her bag, and produced bandages. "You were hurt because of me," she said softly.

"Don't worry Kagome-san, I heal fast!" Koga replied confidently. Kagome smiled at his words, despite everything that happened, he was still cheerful. She found herself returning his smile.

"That may be Koga but I would still like to take care of it. Please." She didn't know if it was her words or her version of 'puppy eyes' but he gave her a small nod and she gestured him to sit. She sat next to him and touched his wounded arm. He didn't pull back but offered his appendage for her inspection. Inuyasha would've pulled away. Shaking her head lightly, she tried to clear her head of thoughts of Inuyasha. She traced the wound and was glad that the wound had stopped bleeding, but it was still deep and nasty looking. She brought out a bottle of water, twisting the cap off with her mouth. Spitting out the cap, she pour the water over the wound. He didn't make a sound but she could feel him tense slightly under her fingers.

"Koga-kun, I'm going to disinfect your wound," she explained bringing out a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

"Disinfect?" he asked. Sometimes she forgot she wasn't in modern times.

"Ah, sorry. This will clean your wound out," she explained. "This may sting a little."

Releasing his arm, she unscrewed the bottle, grabbed him arm again, and held it tight. Pouring the liquid over wound, he let out a scream as the liquid poured into the wound. She held on as he tried to shake his arm free from her. She knew the pain very well, being quite klutzy in the modern era but the way he was screaming made it seem like he was dying. The wolf pack rushed into the cave, ready to fight. They laughed at the site before them. Kagome had finally released Koga's arm and he was waving it wildly, with tears in his eyes, all the while Kagome giggled.

"What is that devilish liquid!" he yelled, when the stinging sensation began to die. He swiped the bottle from her hands. "Rubbing alcohol, it should be called devil juice," he scoffed.

Kagome laughed and grabbed it back, putting it back into her backpack. "Now are you done crying because I still have to wrap your arm," she said, smiling. Seeing her smile, he stopped his grumbling and offered his arm again. Surprised at how easily he gave his arm, she gave him another smile. He's surprisingly simple to treat, if this was Inuyasha, he'd be complaining the entire time. Upon thinking of the hanyou, she could feel some of her old anger return.

"Kagome-san, are you okay?" Koga asked, breaking her angry thoughts. "You got this look on your face. You're not going to throw that liquid into my wound again?"

She shook her head in response. "Sorry Koga-kun, I was thinking about Inuyasha."

That earned a scoff from him. "Why do you put up with that baka?"

"Inuyasha isn't that bad. He might be a baka but he can be sweet too," she responded. Like that time he thoughts she was dead, he hugged me so tight. A slight blush dusted her cheeks. But then she thought of Kikyo and her mood went dark.

Suddenly he closed this distance between them and sniffed the air. Kagome looked at him worriedly. "You smell sad."

She scratched her head, glad that he didn't say that she smelled like trash. "I was worried you were going to comment on my apparent odor. I haven't showered in a few days."

Another long sniff followed her comment and she wondered if she should've kept her mouth shut. "I don't smell anything off, you smell pure and clean…virginal," he said with a smirk.

"What?!" she yelled, "You can smell that!"

Koga chuckled at her naivety, causing her face to turn bright red. "Well your response certainly answered my question."

"Eh, let's leave them alone again," Ginta whispered to everyone else. They left again and Kagome blushed as some gave Koga praises and encouragement.

"We wolves have excellent smelling and different moods smell different. I've got your scent now, so I can find you again." Giving her no time to remark on that comment, he took her hand and inspected her tiny wounds. "Kagome-san, this won't do. I won't have my woman in pain while taking care of me."

She winced at the 'my woman' part and was about to correct him when he took the almost empty water bottle and cleaned his blood from her hand. He gently rubbed the blood from her hand and when her hand had no trace of blood, he gave it a nice, long lick.

Kagome screamed as his warm tongue traced her hand and she yanked it out of his grasp. "What are you doing?" she yelled. She shook her hand but the sensation remained. Her blush returned full force. Why am I so warm? It was true; she was sweating but the cave itself was cool.

Koga didn't look offended when she yanked her hand back but gave her one of his smiles. "When pack members are hurt, we clean it by licking the wounds."

"Pack members?" she asked.

"Yes, Kagome-san, you're part of the pack now," he explained. "You're always welcomed here."

She was pleasantly surprised at his admission. "Thank you Koga-kun but let's…uh…not do the licking part." Trying to keep herself from thinking about what just happened, she focused back onto his wound. She took out some bacitracin ointment and began to put it on his wound.

He chuckled making her look up, and she was struck at how much smiling changed his face. When she first encountered him, his face was harsh looking and it scared her. Now, his face lit up, those harsh lines disappearing, eyes peered down at her were shining with laughter. She blushed when he tossed her a wink, causing him to chuckle again.

"Koga-kun, I wanted to ask you something," she asked. She wanted to know about the wolf clan and about Koga but her mind drifted to the last interaction between Koga and Inuyasha. Instead, she blurted out, "You can't fight Inuyasha next time."

His eyes narrowed. "I'll fight him and anyone that comes in my way or try to take you away! That mutt doesn't deserve someone like you Kagome-san."

"Koga-kun, please don't fight him anymore," she pleaded. "I don't want you or Inuyasha to get hurt."

His gaze softened a bit at her confession. "I don't make promises I can't keep Kagome-san. I'll try to not fight mutt-face but if he attacks me, then I'll kill him."

The 'kill him' part made her tense but she decided not to push it further. That was probably as close as she could get to him saying that he won't fight. "Thank you Koga-kun," she said. She began to wrap his arm with a bandage before tying a knot to hold it in place. "There, that should hold."

Koga inspected his arm. "It feels better already. Thank you Kagome-chan."

She could feel another blush stain her cheeks. "You're welcome, it was the least I could do after you protected me…"

"After I kidnapped you though," he continued.

She scratched her head awkwardly. "Yeah, there is that…Koga, you haven't had much encounters with humans have you?" At his confused glance, she explained, "Kidnapping isn't usually how we like to show that we're interested," she said lightly. Wanting him to understand that she wasn't mad, cause she wasn't, she gave his arm a light squeeze and a smile when he turned to look at her.

Koga looked away, shameful. "Unfortunately Kagome, before you, humans were a part of our diet. Our interactions between them have always been bloody and tense." He turned to look at her. "But you've changed me."

Hearing such a complement made her blush. It wasn't something that she was used to but it felt…nice. "Koga-kun, you give me too much credit. I didn't do anything."

Koga shook his head. "I've never thought of humans as anything besides the enemy or food. I've always thought they're weak but you showed me another side of them. Also, starting from today, we won't hunt humans for food anymore."

That brought a smile to her face. Kagome had never had that sort of effect on anyone before. I must be a positive influence here. Often she felt useless, especially in this era, where she didn't have many valuable skills to help the gang. Discovering that nobody cared about her math and reading skills made her feel depressed and inadequate. Inuyasha liked to point out her horrible archery skills, though she is getting better at it, she wondered what she contribution to the group was besides being able to detect the Shikon no Tama. It felt nice to be appreciated.

"Thank you Koga-kun, that means a lot to me," she said. Giving him a smile, she began to pack away her things. "I would like to stay and talk but I need to head back home." She really did want to stay; she didn't really have anyone to talk to besides Sango and Shippo, on occasions.

Koga nodded and she rose to her feet. Giving him a smile, she started for the exit. She could feel his gaze and before exiting, she turned around and gave him a small wave before disappearing to the other side.

Koga watched Kagome exit the cave. Slowly the pack began to return to the cave. Ginta and Hakkaku came up to him. Though he initially kidnapped her to use her but now he had another purpose, to steal her away from mutt-face. That slap she gave him, it hurt him and his pride. No demon would've dared to slap him but yet this human did. He should've been pissed but instead he was intrigued. Though he didn't have that much experience with humans, he has observed them before and he's learned a few things about them. Seeing her reaction about his 'claiming', he knew that if he wanted her to be his, he would have to change his approach a bit.

"Hey Koga, what're you smiling about?" Hakkaku asked.

Indeed he was smiling. While he had females warm his bed, he had never felt the urge to claim any of them before. He remembered her sweet scent and her reaction to his admission.

"I'm feel happy," he answered truthfully. It has been a while since he felt this content. He could feel Ginta and Hakkaku give him a look. "Kagome-san is…interesting."

Shooting him a grin, both males nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, when she slapped you, I thought she was a goner," Ginta said.

"She's fearless, for a human," Hakkaku chimed.

"I'm going to make her mine," Koga said suddenly. Turning to his friends, he gave them a smirk. "And I have a plan."

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Well, there you go! My first Inuyasha fanfic While I haven't made up my mind on who Kagome will end up with, I am leaning toward Koga (but I still love Inuyasha when he isn't being a baka)! I would love to hear what you guys think of it so far. Leave me some love and thank you for reading! And I am 90% done with the next chapter, which will cover Kagome's return to modern times.

therapist