Sorry everyone! For a while there, I accidentally had chapter 3 posted twice! I meant to post this one instead. (The problem should be fixed by the time that you are able to read this though.) Somehow, after I wrote this chapter, the document was destroyed. So now I have to re-write the entire thing –AGAIN! I hope you all REALLY appreciate this! Anyways, I can't make this chapter too long, but I really wanted to get this rewritten before I forget exactly what it is that I want to write. Thank you for the patience! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Key:
"Speaking"
"Thinking"
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RECAP:
"Kagome, you are not going anywhere. I brought you back here with me because you are my mate, and you belong to me. You will do as I say." Kouga announced in a harshly possessive manner. Kagome had never heard him speak to her like that, and frankly, she was appalled.
"Excuse me? I am not some piece of property!" She shouted as she raised her hand to smack him. Kouga caught her hand though, and forced it back down to her side, laughing.
"You always were the stubborn one. Don't worry. I'll be a better mate to you than that stupid half-breed would. He can't protect you like I can. In time, you'll see that You are far better off with me than you ever were with him."
Kagome felt betrayed. She had always trusted Kouga, and she had even considered him a friend. "I can't believe this is for real. This is really happening. I don't know when or how it happened, but Kouga has changed. I never thought that Kouga would treat me this way."
At this point, Kouga began to take her into the cave. Kagome began struggling and squirming, yelling for him to let her go, but it was no use. Kouga's men gathered around to see him bringing back 'his future mate' and egged him on even more. Kagome ignored their whistles and calls and fought harder. There was no way she was going to give in this easily.
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Ginta and Hakkaku we sitting quietly away from the crowd watching the commotion. You could still see Kouga's back as he carried an angry Kagome to the back of the cave, struggling to break free from his grasp. She was so upset it looked as if she was almost in tears. Ginta had to look away; this just wasn't something that he wanted to see right now. It hurt him to see Kagome like this, knowing that there was nothing he could do about it.
"So I guess Kouga didn't have any luck with sister Kagome then." Hakkaku stated. "Still, I never thought that he would just drag her back here like that." He stated; his eyes still glued to the scene before him. You could tell that he felt sorry for her.
"Yeah." Ginta muttered, looking down at his feet. "This is all my fault… I am such an idiot. I gave him bad advice on purpose, and now look what he's done. Maybe if I hadn't instructed him to do those things it wouldn't have had to come to this."
"Ginta, are you okay?" Hakkaku asked, sensing his brother's obvious state of depression. "Something has really been bothering you lately. What is it?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just tired." He replied, hoping that Hakkaku would buy it.
"Well, that's probably because you haven't slept or eaten decently in over a week. Come on Ginta, what is it?"
"I told you, it's nothing. You're imagining things." He stated.
"Really? Am I? Everyone has noticed it. You have been acting moody and depressed for quite a while now. You hardly sleep, and when you do, you wake up in the middle of the night mumbling about someone, and say that you have to go out to 'think.' And -if I'm not mistaken- you seem to get pretty upset when Kouga talks about going after Kagome. Tell me, what's going on?" Hakkaku asked, trying to pry some information out of his brother.
"Oh my god. He mentioned Kagome. Does this mean that he knows? Who am I kidding, of course he knows. It's not like I have done a very good job at being discreet about this. Oh well, I guess I better come clean and hope that he decides not to tell Kouga."
Ginta pulled Hakkaku farther back away from the crowd, in order to make sure that no one overheard what he was about to say. "Fine. You caught me. I am in love with Kagome." He announced.
Hakkaku's jaw nearly hit the floor. "What?!?" He screamed. "YOU LOVE KA-"
Ginta promptly jumped up and clamped his hand over Hakkaku's mouth. He noticed that a few of the wolf demons had turned to stare at them with a confused look in their eyes.
"I love… karma." Ginta said to the wolves, hoping to cover his tracks. "It always has its way of coming back around!" He said with extra enthusiasm. The wolves looked at him like he was crazy, but eventually went back to their business.
"Thanks for almost broadcasting the fact that I love Kagome to half of the wolf clan." Ginta said as he turned to his brother, giving him a look of annoyance.
"Sorry, but it just came as a bit of a shock. I mean, you love Kagome. That's a pretty big deal." He apologized.
"Wha… you mean you didn't know?!" Ginta questioned with disbelief. "You were talking about Kouga, and Kagome and all that stuff. I thought you had figured it out."
"Actually, no. I thought that you were just jealous that Kouga had found someone for mating season and you hadn't." Hakkaku said sincerely.
"Oh… right." "Man. I totally forgot about mating season." Ginta thought to himself. "Oh no. that means…"
"Ginta?" Hakkaku asked. "What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. There's not really much I can do." Ginta replied sadly. "I just wish that there was some way that I could help her. I know that she doesn't want to be here. Kouga will never agree to let her leave. "
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Kouga gently tossed the angry girl onto a pile of furs located in a private den in the back of the cave.
"This is my room." He said with a smile.
Kagome scanned the room, but didn't find that there was much to look at. While it was a fairly decent size, it wasn't very well furnished. There was a pile of furs on the floor (which she was currently seated on) and a torch that helped to light the room. There was a door flap made of fur that blocked the entrance, and which gave the room a little bit more privacy than the rest of the cave.
"I hope you like it here. This will be your room too from now on."
"Kouga; enough! I have to go. Please just stop this. You know as well as I do that I cannot stay here." Kagome stated. She was beyond agitated now. She was totally pissed.
Any angry look flashed across Kouga's face as he pounced on top of the startled Kagome. "Listen to me, Kagome. Mating season starts in just a few days, and I have chosen YOU. You will be my mate. You no longer have a choice." He growled viciously as he began to kiss her. He shut his eyes and leaned in closer, trying to deepen the kiss, but Kagome wouldn't allow it. She thrashed and wiggled around; trying desperately to make him stop. Again, this only caused him to laugh. "Don't worry love. We'll save the rest of that for later." He winked as he jumped off and turned to walk away.
"I must leave you now. Night is approaching and I still have a few things to take care of. Don't try to sneak off; I will have guards posted outside this door."
Kagome could see the door flap swing back into place as he exited the room. As promised, she heard him order 2 guards to stand watch outside the door. She could hear a muffled 'do not let anyone in or out of this room with the exception of me' and felt her anger swell even more so than before. "How could he do this to me? I thought we were friends." She let a single tear of betrayal and frustration slip and fall down to the cold stone floor below. "Please come for me Inuyasha." Kagome whispered as she lay down and slowly drifted off to sleep.
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"Inuyasha! It's well after sundown; let's just call it a day!" Shippou huffed out in a defeated tone. "You have been trying to find their scents for hours. If there were any scent trails to pick up on, you would have found one by now!"
"Shut up runt! I'm not giving up on her!" Inuyasha yelled, with his nose still stuck to the ground. Sango had come back to the group long ago, but unfortunately she was unable to find any sign of Kouga or Kagome's whereabouts.
"Maybe he's right Inuyasha. You look wrecked. I know that you've had a rough day. Continuing to search for her in the hazy, sleep deprived state that you are in now can only serve to further hurt your chances of finding her." Miroku said.
"Yeah, I think a goodnight's rest will do you some good." Sango added. "We can pick up right here first thing in the morning."
"Fine! But we are going to be out here at the crack of dawn, and I don't want to hear any complaining!" He yelled out. He was angry, but only at himself. "I shouldn't have let this happen in the first place. Maybe Miroku and Sango are right." He thought bitterly. He could use some rest, after all he did take a bit of a beating from Kouga today… not that he would ever admit that.
The gang found a nice clearing, and settled down to sleep. Inuyasha of course leapt up into a nearby tree, perched conveniently above the makeshift campsite. He took one last glance over at Kagome's abandoned belongings, and felt a pang of guilt. "I only have 7 days starting tomorrow before the mating season starts. I know that Kouga won't waste any time after that. Please be safe Kagome. I promise I will find you." These were Inuyasha's last thoughts before he too, drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.
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Hakkaku was still questioning Ginta on his 'situation' a little bit more, but this time in a more light hearted manner.
"So THAT'S why you gave Kouga all that horrible advice on wooing women!" Hakkaku laughed out. "I thought you had gone mental when you said that Kagome would appreciate a dead bird as a gift."
"Hah. Yeah. Although I'm not really proud of what I have done, I guess it was a little funny. Kouga is so gullible." Ginta joined in.
"Ginta, you know that you have to forget about her… right? As much as I hate to say this, you have to move on. This is Kouga we're talking about here. If you try to challenge him on this, you will lose."
"Yes, I understand that. I just don't want to see Kagome get hurt. Kagome doesn't know anything about wolf demon society, or mating season for that matter. And somehow, I don't think Kouga is going to give her the benefit of the doubt." Ginta replied. He had already come to terms with the fact that he and Kagome would never be together, but he still had feelings for her.
"Look, I think that I might have a way that I can help you out. Kouga has to meet with the wolf demon council in the North before the turn of spring. You know that he is going to want someone watching out for Kagome at all times, so I'll see if I can convince him to let you be her main guardian in his absence. However, NOTHING is to happen between you two. I am just doing this so that you can talk with her, and get some closure on your feelings for her. Try to fill her in on the way things happen around here, and sort of ease her into the situation. I'm sure it will help to make things easier for her in the long run, and it will help you to feel better too, knowing that she is not so unhappy. Fair?"
"Yes, thank you!" Ginta replied happily. "Just please don't tell Kouga that-"
"Tell me what? Said Kouga, as he approached the pair. "And where have you two been? I've been looking for you all night."
"Oh, we were just talking." Ginta replied. "So, was that Kagome that I saw here earlier?" He added, hoping to change the subject.
"Yeah. That advice that you gave me didn't work so well… but I got her here none the less." Kouga stated. "That's actually what I came here to tell you two. You have to make sure that Inuyasha does not get anywhere near these grounds. He WILL come looking for her. I need you two to make sure that guards are posted and on call at all times. It's too close to mating season, and I don't want that mutt anywhere near her." He bit out.
"Sure Kouga. Anything you say." Hakkaku agreed.
"Also, make sure that Kagome does not escape. I want to make sure that she does not leave the territory at ANY time."
Ginta noticed that Kouga's stare was directed at him as he said this, and he grudgingly agreed. He wished that he could let Kagome escape, but he knew that it would not be allowed. Kouga would kill him for it.
"You know, I just love the spring." Kouga said as he sat down and began to relax a little more. "And this is sure to be a great year." He said with a smile on his face. "Kagome is going to make a great mate for me." He said dreamily.
Ginta got up and left. He was really trying to control his anger, but he just couldn't help it. "Hopefully Hakkaku is right. Maybe all I need is the chance to talk to her a little, and I will be able to move on." He thought as he made his exit through the front of the cave.
"What's gotten into that guy?" Kouga asked, leaning back against the cave wall.
"Oh, he just has some things to take care of. No big deal." Hakkaku said. "Hey, Kouga, are you going to meet with the wolf demon council up north this year? You don't want to miss it. They make a lot of decisions for the upcoming year, and you don't want to be left out."
"Well, considering everything that has been going on lately, I was thinking of forgoing it. But, I guess you're right. I don't want to appear like a weak leader, not even bothering to show up. "He said. "I'm counting on you and Ginta to be in charge, Hakkaku. As long as you two are sure that you can handle it, I will go."
"Of course. Ginta and I will personally see to Kagome's happiness and well being." Hakkaku assured him.
"Good. Now that's what I like to hear. If there is nothing else, I think I will go and get some sleep. I will have to leave first thing tomorrow morning." Kouga said as he got up and stretched, making his way back to his private den.
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Kouga pushed the door flap aside, and strode into his room, telling the guards that they could leave. He smiled as he saw Kagome sleeping peacefully in his bed. "Now I could get used to this." He thought as he climbed in beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "This is going to be a good spring indeed."
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Done! For now that is. I feel like I could have done a little better on this chapter, but I was a bit pressed for time. Sorry. I'll try to come back and clean things up a bit later. Remember to review! Let me know what you think!