A/N: I'm sorry guys, it has been a little crazy with work and school. I can't promise steady updates... but! I am gonna be on a month break in a couple of weeks, so! There's that.

P.E Teacher

Chapter 6

Sweat dripped down his neck as he was awoken in the middle of the night, his mind filled with flashes of the past. Something had changed again. He did not know how many more nights of this he would be able to withstand. Five hundred years ago was a long time ago and it was bringing it all back as though it was as recent as yesterday. He would not be able to fonction through it. That was without considering his growing fear that something in the past would get altered. How was it that a simple meeting in the future was able to modify the past so much? If only he had known, he would have stayed away and he would not have said as much.

Of course, now it was impossible for him to stay away. He needed to keep an eye on the situation and intervene if need be. All he could hope for was that their little meeting had not screwed up everything for everyone and the final outcome.

-P-

The sun was still high in the sky as Kagome walked down the street, ready to pick up her little brother from his soccer practice. Her mother had to take her grandpa to his doctor appointment and they had not yet returned. Kagome had sneaked away from the feudal era while the wolf boys had been hunting for breakfast. She had found it easier than to have that conversation. They had been low on a few medical supplies and considering Kouga's recent battle, he had not wanted to take any chances in regards to safety. Once the school came into view, Kagome's steps hurried. She did not have time to linger too long and she would most likely have to return tonight without enjoying a nice night of rest in her comfortable modern era bed.

By the time she arrived at the gates she could see that they were done practicing since most of the boys were walking away with their bags hanging off their shoulders. She quickly spotted her own brother who was heading her direction.

"Hey Kagome."

"How was practice?" Sometimes, she did feel a twinge of pain at the fact that she was missing out.

"Good," he answered with a smile. "The new coach is great."

"Since when do you have a new coach?"

He shrugged. "Not long. He's great though - and he's super fast."

That sounded a lot like… but, Kagome did not get to finish her thought.

"Hey, Souta. Don't forget your -"

Kagome raised her head which silenced him mid sentence. Of course it was him. Who else would it be? Her life did not allow for random coincidences.

"Kagome?" she was the last person he expected to see. "W-what are you doing here?"

She smiled. "Picking up my little brother," she said as she pointed to Souta.

S-souta… Higurashi. He was her little brother.

Souta was a little quicker than him to react. "You know each other."

"He's a friend," Kagome began before hushing her voice. "From the other side of the well."

Immediately, Souta's eyes widened in admiration. "Like Inuyasha?"

Kouga required a moment to process the information: clearly her brother was up to date on the whole situation.

"Except I'm not a mutt," he was quick to reply.

Kagome had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the comment: Gold old Kouga.

"Is that why you're so fast?"

"A little bit."

"Sis, can he come over?" It was the first time that Souta ever saw someone move like him - and now that he knew he was a youkai, that just made him a million times cooler.

"Souta, I'm sure Kouga has better things to do tonight." He had a life outside of hers.

"Sure." His reply came so quickly that even he was unable to stop himself. He was not sure if she had been trying to not invite him politely or if she had truly not wanted to impose on his life. It was Kagome, meaning both options were highly possible. Plus, he was not sure of how at ease he would be going with her to her house in regards to all of the recent new memories she had created. He knew they would need to have a conversation but he was not sure that having it during a family dinner was the best thing. It would have to wait until they were alone.

"Alright, then," she replied with her lips tightly stretched into a smile. How in the world could she prepare him for the million questions her brother would have, or her grandfather's spells and sutras? "Let's get going."

Maybe her visit would not be as brief as she had anticipated.

-P-

"Youkai! Be gone you evil monster!"

Kagome resisted the urge to face palm herself as she watched her grandfather throw sand at Kouga's face - as if her little brother's thousand questions had not been enough. No, apparently, his grandfather had to make the whole situation a lot worse. Meanwhile, Kouga was standing perfectly still, towering over her grandfather, his eyes closing each time sand was thrown at him. He clearly appeared less than pleased with the situation but he was holding it in a lot better than Inuyasha ever had.

"Grandpa…" she tried for the fifth time. Considering how many times Inuyasha had been over, she thought he would have been over it by now. On top of it, Kouga had a disguise on, which hid away all of his youkai features. How could her grandfather possible tell that he was a youkai?Perhaps he was not that senile after all…That in itself was a scary thought. "I'm so sorry," she apologized again. "Grandpa, Kouga is a friend."

"He's a youkai!" Why did his only granddaughter keep bringing youkais to their shrine? Why did he bother? He walked away from them, mumbling under his breath as he shook his head.

"So that was my grandpa," she said with her hands clasped behind her back. So much for introducing him to the family…

He arched an eyebrow before shaking the sand out of his hair. "Do I want to meet you mother?" Her brother had been overly excited, but there was nothing wrong with that. Her grandpa on the other hand was a complete nut job. He reminded him of the humans who used to chase youkais away with forks.

She laughed. "Yes, she's a - little different from grandpa." That was one way to put it.

"And is your dad gonna kick my ass?"

At the question, both her and Souta froze, but Kagome was the one to answer. If she could avoid answering, she would but - she had to… "He's - no longer with us."

And now he felt like a complete moron for even bringing it up. Fuck. How did he always do this? "Kag…"

"It was a long time ago, don't worry." Her memories of him were faint at best; they were not enough of them for her to be sad about it. She had some regrets about never knowing him but, questions about him did not make her sad. "Let's go."

She turned around, not giving him a chance to argue with her and she walked into the house. After a beat, she could hear Kouga and her brother following her. "Mom," she called out.

Her mother appeared in the kitchen with a smile on her face.

"I brought a guest."

Suddenly, Kouga found himself very self conscious as he moved forward, putting his best smile on. He only had one chance at making a good impression and he was not going to ruin it. "It's nice to meet you ma'am."

For an instant, Kagome mother's blinked, her eyes searching Kouga's face. His first thought was that she recognized him as the coach and found it widely inappropriate that he was hanging out with her daughter. He swallowed hard, doing his best to keep his smile on.

"I know I know you," she said with a smile before walking towards him.

"He's my coach," Souta pitched in. "And he's a youkai from the well - like Inuyasha."

As Kagome noticed her mother's confusion, she knew she would have to provide a more in depth explanation than what her brother had just said. He's not really from the other side of the well. We met five hundred years ago but… he's from here." There was no easy way to explain it. "I've told you about him. Kouga…"

"The one who kidnapped you?" her mother asked as she tried to remember her daughter's many adventures.

Great now her mother knew him as the man who kidnapped her daughter. That officially ruined any chance he had at making a good impression. Even his trademark smirk was not about to fix this one for him. Although he almost preferred man who kidnapped her to man who shouted his love from the top of a mountain like a crazy person.

"Yes - it's complicated. But he's a good friend."

These were the only words her mother needed to hear before she wrapped her arms around Kouga, giving hm a welcoming hug. Kagome had a whole life on the other side of the well and she did not get to know a lot about it - except for Inuyasha's visits. "It's so nice to meet one of Kagome's friends! Please, sit. Would you like anything to eat?" she rapidly babbled as she pulled away from him.

Kouga had initially been a little stiff but Kagome's mother warm welcome helped him relax. Kagome, meanwhile, was finally able to breath a little better. This was not so bad.

Conversation flew and before they knew it,the food had been ready. Obviously, Kouga spent the entire meal being bombaded with questions and he answered them all between bites. Even her grandfather went as far as doing some small talk. Once supper was over, and he helped clean up, Kagome gave him a quick tour of the shrine. The last place left to visit was her bedroom. Luckily for her, her mother had cleaned up at bit, leaving it presentable. Once the visit was complete, she sat in her chair.

"So this was my family, and this is my home," she announced.

He nodded. "It's nice." It made him a little sad to think that she had this whole life and a family and yet she spent so much time away from them. It did not seem fair. "Thanks for having me over," he added as he awkwardly sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I couldn't let my little brother's coach go starving." Life was filled with strange coincidences.

He chuckled. "Yeah. I can't believe I didn't put two and two together." Then again, it was not like he had been stalking her. "You know the boys would be thrilled to see ya. Maybe I could return the favor." Although he was nowhere near as good a her mom when it came down to cooking.

"Ginta and Hakkaku?" She could not help but wonder what they looked like now.

"Yeah, they keep yapping about you." And that word was not strong enough to describe the amount of nagging he had been through lately. Although they were also very insistent about the fact that he should have the talk with her - but that would wait until later.

"It's just a little hard for me to plan when I'll be here." Unless there was an exam or a paper due, she would just kind of randomly go home. And it was not like she could guarantee that she could make it back on time for a precise date: what if they got attacked, spotted a shard or worse? She could not possibly abandon everyone just to come home for supper. She did not want to disappoint anyone by bailing on them.

He waved it off. "Just text me when you're around and we'll make it work around your schedule. We wouldn't wanna stand in the way of saving the world," he said with a wink.

Although, at this point, he no longer knew where they were heading. It would be a lot easier and a lot safer it they saw each other somewhere that was unknown to Inuyasha. Eve now, he could come bursting in her bedroom at any point and it would not be a fun conversation to have and explain. Actually, why had she not thought of that before bringing him into a room? She was leaving a trail.

"Ya alright." It was hard to miss the stiffness in her body. "Yeah…" she began, unsure how to explain this to Kouga without saying it.

Kouga forced a smile. "Inuyasha?" It was not hard to guess from the look on her face..

"He shows up unannounced… a lot."

"And it would be best if I were not there when he shows up," he finished for her.

She cringed: she really did not want it to sound like that.

"Don't worry _ I dont' think it would go well and I'd like to avoid that too."

She offered an apologetic smile. "And I was supposed to head back tonight. I sneaked away while you were gone…" She turned her head, avoiding his gazed.

He smiled. "Then we should get ya back before I do something stupid." He was a little too aware of how reckless he could be. Years of hiding had tamed that side of him but the Kouga she knew still had some growing up to do.

"I'm sorry…" She did not want him to think that she was kicking him out.

"Hey, I know what it's like back then. I know what you have to go through…"

The amount of people that knew about her double life was small and she had to admit, it was nice to add another person to it. He could understand what it was like to be back there and how hard it was to hide yourself in the modern era. Having someone like that was not something she was used to but she was glad that they were able to find each other.

"Need any help?" he offered as he eyed her backpack.

"Yes please." She was already going to have to lug it out of the well. "Any way you chan share with me if somebody is going to help me out of the well?"

He chuckled. "Now, what would be the fun in that?" he said with a wink as he picked up her bag.

She frowned as she followed behind him. "I doubt that's gonna wreck time and space."

"You never know," he said as he kept walking away, a smile dancing on his lips.

Eventually she would get him to talk a little.

-P-

Not this again - she could not physically and mentally take it. Inuyasha was marking circles around her, his nose twitching, while she was boiling hot water to make some ramen noodles. It was the same routine every time she saw the future version of Kouga. It was like he could smell something but could not at the same time. It was driving her absolutely insane. At tis point, she would rather smell like Kouga since she could easily explain that now that he was traveling with the group.

Luckily for Kagome, Kouga had not been around upon her return. Inuyasha complained that she took too long but she simply rolled her eyes at him. And now, well, he was annoying her. Also, she had been back for a while, but there was still no sign of Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku. Where would they have possibly gone to for so long? She tried to watch through the thick trees of the forest but she was not able to see anything - and it was getting quite late and dark.

"Waiting for your boyfriend?" Inuyasha did not know what it was but something was different about Kagome. Was it her? Was it her scent? He could not tell what had changed but he knew something was off. Plus what was up with suddenly inviting Kouga to be part of their little group? He never came with them before and she had never cared. What was so different this time? They were slower, they had seen Naraku less and so far their jewel shard count only had one new shiny piece - which they got after Kouga had mysteriously vanished by himself. How were they to know that Naraku was not involved considering the blood bath they had stumbled upon.

"Inuyasha…" She was not in the mood for it. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Coulda fooled me," he sneered as he backed away into a nearby tree, his arms crossed in front of his chest. It was not like he was jealous or nothing.

Before Kagome was able to retort anything, there was a ruffle of the leaves, attracting the whole group's attention. As expected, they watched as the trio emerged from the shadows. The guys' expressions immediately light up when they saw Kagome but Kouga's face remained stern.

The events that had transpired had been difficult for him and they had made him feel weak all over again. He did not have enough power, he was not strong enough. It was also clear that the asshole was targeting him and his kind. He now felt like more than ever his presence was putting her at risk. It had left him with one option and he had taken it. He glanced down at his right arm before closing his hand into a fist. He now had something that allowed him to help… just in case.

Inuyasha was the first to greet the wolf pack and he did so with a twitching nose. "Why do you smell different?" he asked in an accusing tone.

"None of ya business." Kouga replied as she headed in direction of his final destination; Kagome. She was the one inspiring him to be better and do better.

"Don't start you two," Kouga warned. She knew that look in Inuyasha's eyes. "Can't we just get along?" She knew how kind, protective and caring Inuyasha could be and the same could be said about Kouga. How was it that the two of them simply could not be in the same room as each other? They had a lot in common.

"I'll stop if mutt face stops." It was not his fault that Inutrasha was threatened by him.

"Keh! If I stop? Maybe if ya learned your place this wouldn't happen."

"You wanna know who needs to learn their place?"

"Anytime you want mangy wolf." As if he were scared of him. Inuyasha's hand hovered over his sword, ready to take it out at any moment.

"Inuyasha, sit." At least there was one of them that she could calm down. She really needed a necklace like that for Kouga as well. "Kouga - his name is Inuyasha, you could learn to say it right."

"Hey - he calls me a mangy wolf!" What was he supposed to do? Let him win?

"That's why his face is in the ground," she pointed out. "Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help. Naraku is out there, killing and targeting us. If we want to defeat him, we'll have to do it together," she said, stressing the last word out.

"Kagome's right," Sango said as she joined into the conversation. "This is what he wants." He had turned Sango against the gang before she even knew them - he had turned her brother against her and their family. This was his ammo of choice. They could not give into the discord - no matter their differences.

"And everyone should stop smelling everyone," Kagome pointed out. Inuyasha had to stop smelling people - especially her. This was one secret that she could not spill to him.

"Maybe everyone should stop smellin' guilty," Inuyasha retorqued. Something was fishy.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "And maybe you're the last one who should be puttnig your nose in other people's business." She almost winced but held it back. The more defensive she got, the guiltier she looked, but she could hardly hold it back. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a smirk on Kouga's face. "Not helping mister," she said in a firm tone before giving up. "I'm gonna get some water," she said as she walked past the wolf pack.

Kouga watched her walk away, an eyebrow raised as some clarification downed upon him. He had wondered what she had meant with her smelling comment… but now? When she had walked by hi, he had been hit by a wave of familiarity, There was something strange, and it was not the first time he had felt it. What was it?

-P-

"Inuyasha was right."

Kagome popped one eye open at the comment. She let her body sink further into the water of the small spring they had found. The water was warm, and Sango and her had decided to enjoy a nice bath away from prying eyes. That was until Inuyasha's name was brought up. "What do you mean?"

Sango offered a shrug of the shoulders. "There is something different about Kouga."

Should she be concerned? "Different good or different bad?"

"I don't think it's bad," she began as she leaned into a nearby rock for support. "His…aura. It feels different than before." She did not know why but it felt… stronger? Maybe.

"He hasn't said anything." Then again, she had not asked. It was rather strange for her to know two versions of the same person. At least future Kouga could understand any confusion she might have. Perhaps she should ask this Kouga? Future Kouga could not share much with her. "He's been a little weird since he saw the dead youkais and got the shard," she agreed. He had not told anyone what had happened that day.

"It's hard to see your owns slaughtered like that," Sango pointed out. "And it is the second time that happens to him." She had wanted to die and she could not imagine how it felt to go through it a second time. "Kagome, can I ask you something?" She had meant to ask her before, but - the timing had never felt right.

"Sure?" Why did it feel like it was going to be about Kouga? Anticipating, she looked away.

"Why did you ask Kouga to join us?" She did not have anything against him, it was simply that she had found the whole thing sudden and a bit out of the blue. "I know what you said, and I agree with you - but I feel like there is more." Kagome loved Inuyasha - everyone knew it. There was also no denying that Inuyasha had feelings for her and that he cared for her. But, there was always Kikyo's presence lurking between them, causing a stalemate. Kouga on the other hand was all about Kagome and his devotion for her.

Kagome pinched her lips, trying to think of something. She thought her speech had been logical enough, but apparently her skills as a liar were not on point, despite the fact that she spent half of her time hiding her second life. There only question left was, could she possibly share this with another person without turning it all into a bigger mess? Kagome raised her eyes, trying to take a quick look around before sighing.

"Promise me that you won't tell anyone - not Miroku, not Shippo - not Inuyasha."

Sango had rarely seen Kagome this panicked in the past. All she could do was nod.

"I saw Kouga - in my time." There it was out in the open.

"Kouga can also go through the well?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, not this Kouga. Five hundred years from now Kouga."

Oh. "But I thought you said that youkais were gone from your time?"

"I thought they were but apparently I was very wrong." She sighed. What else did she not know? Meeting Kouga in her era opened up a lot of doors and created many questions.

"You saw Kouga… and now he is traveling with us?" Sango could still not see the connection between the two events.

""I-" How to explain it? "Talking to him - just helped me learn how much he lost, how deep his pain was and… well I just thought he deserved a chance to right some wrongs and take down the person who ruined his life." She saw a new side of him.

Sango could not disagree with that. "How have you managed to hide it from them all this time?"

"I'm not sure - from what Kouga - other Kouga- told me, whatever his hiding his youkai appearance in my time, it's also hiding his scent. Although, I still feel like they can tell." But that was probably her own paranoia kicking in and nothing else. At least she hoped…

"Inuyasha has been smelling you an awful lot lately…" She had not known what it was about but now that she had the full story, it did add up. "What are you going to do?"

"About what?"

"Can you keep this from them?" Kagome was not always the best liar.

She had already slipped up once or twice to past Kouga but the ultimate goal was to keep it to herself. "I don't think it would help anyone. Actually, it would make it all a lot worse than it already is." Kouga would not understand, and Inuyasha would freak.

"What is he like?" She knew Kouga with this reckless personality, but something told her he was not the same.

"Kouga?" Sango nodded. "A lot different. Older I guess. I mean, he's still Kouga - but he's different. For starter, he doesn't call me his woman anymore." She shrugged. "I haven't seen him that much and he won't really talk about Naraku and what's going to happen with everything."

Sangos' eyes darkened as her face became more serious. "It's probably best that way - we wouldn't wanna change anything." She assumed that if Kouga was well, it could not have gone badly - meaning they would want to keep things that way and not alter the future… although. "Wait, you said you invited Kouga to travel with us because you met him in the future right?" Kagome nodded. "Is that how he remembers it going?"

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what if he only joined us because you saw him? What if you already changed something?"

"I don't think so. I think time is pretty fixed. I mean, I'm here all the time and my era has never changed. If I could change things I'm sure I would have seen the consequences of it by now." It had been years and things remained unchanged.

"You're right but I don't think we should find out anything."

"I agree." Although she was dying to know a few things: did Sango get her brother back? Did they kill Naraky? Did the void in Miroku's hand disappear? And… Kikyo and Inuyasha… did they make it? What about Inuyasha and her? Heck, she did not know if she would either be stuck in the past or in the present. Sango was right; the least they knew, the better.

-P-

He stared at his open palm, a tingling traveling through it. Currently, it was invisible to the naked eye but he knew it was there. He could feel the power surging through him. Now he could help protect his own and he could ensure Kagome's safety. Over the years he had believed that Inuyasha could do it, but now that he had seen him recklessly abandon Kagome for another woman, he knew better. If he wanted his woman to be safe, he had to do it himself. He would make sure that bastard could not get to her - no matter the cost.

"Kouga?"

The sound of Kagome's soft voice pulled him from the seclusion of his own thoughts and he turned around to look at her. The brightness of the orange flames behind her were lighting up her figure like she was an angel. She was staring at him, her hands clasped behind her back. "We made some food if you're hungry. We even have some raw meat if you'd like." He had been a little secluded sine he returned and it felt unlike him.

He flashed her a grin; his woman was worried about him - and she was providing him with food. She was n angel. "I'd love to eat anything my woman has prepared for me." Without giving her the chance to have a proper reaction, he rose to his feet and hurried to hold her hands in his. "As long as it's' been made with your loving hands, i"d eat it - cooked or not."

Kouga had this time; anytime he looked her in the eyes, he looked at her like time had stopped. There was something quite unsettling about that type of gaze. It pierced her soul and it set him up for disappointment. She was running out of ways to politely get out of it, but she did not want to be rude to him. He had not done anything wrong and she valued him as a friend."I don't think you'll have to make that type of sacrifices. There is raw meat," she re-assured him. She slowly inched her hands out of his, and was abut to break free before she stopped herself as she felt a surge of power tingling through her skin. It was coming from Kouga's hand. She stared at it, almost hoping she would see something else than the tan flesh she was currently staring at.

"Kouga, something is wrong with your hand," she said no longer trying to pull her hands away.

Of course his Kagome would pick up on it right away. That was why he loved her. "I'm stronger," he settled on answering. "I proved myself and I was rewarded." He watched her as she searched his hand for an answer but she found none. "I cant protect you now. More than mutt face ever could." Or ever cared to clearly…

"Kouga," she warned. "His name is Inuyasha." She was tired of their bantering.

"Kagome, why do you protect mutt face?" He despised him for what he did to her.

"Kouga - it's complicated." It was not about him being the first person she met or them teaming up - or even her being Kikyo's reincarnation. She was her own person with her own feelings. She did not expect Kouga to understand but there were a lot of sides to Inuyasha that he had never seen. Inuyasha put his own life on the line multiple times to save her and he cared about her. He had gone through so much…all by himself. He was strong and he carried the world on his shoulders. She knew that he was not trying to hurt her every time he ran to Kikyo. He just loved her and he needed her. Of course, that did not mean that it did not hurt her, but deep down, she knew he did not mean to do it.

"I made him a promise." It was the simplest way she could explain it to him.

"Yeah well, I promised to make ya my woman." He could see the pain in her pretty blue eyes when she thought of INuyasha. He would never break her heart like that.

"Kouga…" They had that talk many times. "I'm not your woman."

"Not yet," he said with a smirk that reminded her of that day on the mountain when he proclaimed his love for her - for all to hear. "But one day, I'll show ya how much better you deserve. You're my woman Kagome and I love ya. I ain't about to let mutt face win. He doesn't deserve ya, ya deserve someone who loves you." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to their joint hands.

He did not know why she was hanging on to Inuyasha but he would take this opportunity to show her what he had to offer. She might seem against it, but she was dropping hints that she did care about him - and that was all he needed. A little bit of hope. He released her hands, his eyes never wavering from her face. She stood there, her luscious lips parted, her cheeks dusted red, and he smirked. He turned around, walking away from her, his hand tightly pressed into a fist.

Kagome swallowed hard, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched him walk away. She did not know the new Kouga that well yet, but she hoped one thing; that he had not lost his determination. Sometimes, it was a little too much, but she admired his convictions. No matter what, he did not stray from what he wanted and he focused all of his efforts to get it. There was something admirable about it.

If only someone else she knew could be this decided about his love life.

-P-