By the time they reached the cave he had been staying in since the massacre of his tribe, Kagura had long since passed out, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Kouga's muscles were aching from carrying her dead weight for so long, but he held her body tightly, making sure she didn't slip from his grasp. When he entered the cave, he placed her on the pile of pelts which he had been sleeping on. She moaned in pain, but remained unconscious as he laid her down. The wolf prince sat back against the wall of the cave, and stared at the wind witch's still form.

What now?

He was covered in her blood, from head to toe. The scent was overpowering, and he felt slightly dizzy. Subconsciously, he brought his hand up to his mouth and licked the crimson liquid from his fingers.

What was I thinking?

He had forgiven her, or so he had said. But anger still burned in his heart. She deserved to die, after everything she had put him through, and yet he had been unable to kill her. Kouga growled.

I'm letting her win, again.

He stood and knelt next to her body, his eyes scanning every inch of her. Kagura's kimono was in shreds, and the deep, dark red wounds that covered her body were a sharp contrast to her pale skin. The wolf prince shook his head. He had been so close to defeating her, he had practically torn her throat out. And yet he backed off, allowed her to live.

Why? Why did I bring her here? Why didn't I just end this and avenge my comrades?

Kagura's eyes fluttered open. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. She tried to sit up, but a loud cry of pain escaped her lips and she fell back, fresh blood pouring from the wounds both Kouga and Naraku had inflicted on her. She turned her head slightly, and gasped when she saw him kneeling next to her.

"K...Kouga..." she whispered, "where are we?"

Anger flashed in his eyes. "Don't question me, bitch. All you need to know is that you are alive, and safe. For now. Just rest, and let your body heal, while I figure out what the hell I'm going to do with you."

What am I going to do with her? I can't just let her go. What if this is all a trick?

Tears rolled down the wind witch's cheeks, and she squeezed her eyes shut. "I thought...that you forgave me," she said. "But you are still planning to kill me, aren't you? Just end it, Kouga, if that's what you want. I no longer care..." That was a complete lie. Kagura didn't want to die. Her hand moved to her chest, and she placed it over her heart, feeling it beat slowly. She still wasn't used to the sensation.

"I am not going to kill you. That would be too easy. But you belong to me now, and you will do what I say. I won't have you running around telling everyone that I am weak. Now shut up and go to sleep, before I change my mind."

Kagura's eyes went wide. She could hardly believe what he was saying. "You are no different than Naraku if all you want to do is control me...I belong to no one but myself, now." She forced her body into a sitting position, grimacing against the pain it caused her. "Why did you bother to tell me that I was forgiven if you still hate me, if you still wish to punish me?"

He moved forward, and pulled her up by the front of her torn kimono, growling angrily. "Why wouldn't I want to punish you, Kagura? Look at what you have put me through! I had an entire tribe, an entire mountain, and I've been reduced to living in a filthy, tiny cave! And it's all your fault, all of it!" Kouga raised his hand, as if he was going to slap her, but the look in her eyes made him hold back. She looked terrified. The wolf prince let her drop roughly to the ground and rose to his feet, standing over her. "What, now you're scared of me?"

She shook her head slightly. "No. I am not afraid of you. I am afraid of this guilt...of what I have done. I don't know how to live with myself now. No one understands..." She paused, drawing in a deep breath and closing her eyes. "I had no choice. It was all Naraku's doing. If I had disobeyed...he would have killed me. I am no different than anyone else, I do value my life. I did what I had to do to survive!"

He glared down at her, anger pumping through his veins like wildfire. She had no right to talk about guilt, or suffering, or surviving. "You don't understand what pain is, Kagura. How could you? All you were was a puppet...Naraku's toy. Without a mind of your own, how could you possibly have suffered?"

The wind witch opened her mouth to answer, but before she could form words, he ran out of the cave, his entire body shaking with anger. She laid her head back onto the pelts, trying to push the thoughts away. She knew that she deserved to die. She didn't blame him for being angry. Finally, mercifully, Kagura drifted back into a restless sleep.

Kouga ran, without any particular destination in mind. He had no idea what he was doing, no idea what he was thinking. Why was he letting her get to him like this? It was only a few hours before that he had been ready to kill her, to make her pay for her crimes. Now he couldn't even hit her? Something was wrong...very wrong.

He stopped at the edge of the moutain, after running for what felt like forever. The sun was just beginning to set. The wolf prince sat down, dangling his feet over the long drop, and staring down at the ground far below him. Part of him just wanted to let himself fall, to get it all over with and reunite with his comrades. But he knew he had to be stronger than that. He had to carry on. He needed a plan.

Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. Yes, perhaps keeping Kagura alive was the right choice. He would make her work for him. Turn her into his puppet, instead of Naraku's. Satisfied with his decision, feeling like this would accomplish his revenge just as well as killing her would, he rose to his feet and ran back to the cave, all the while trying to think of what his first task for her would be.