The heaviness off the atmosphere seemed to have lifted the moment Ginta and Hakkaku were released from the roots. Deeper in the forest, Kagome felt the barrier dissipate. It must have been there to keep anybody from stumbling across our bodies as we writhed in agony. Kagome decided sourly.
"Do you still sense a jewel shard, Kagome?"
"Huh?" She raised her head to look up at her raven haired protector. She had been busy within her own musings to catch what he had been saying. She could see his eye twitch in irritation, but it bother her, she was used to it.
"Jewel shard?" He repeated with a little more frustration in his voice.
Kagome shook her head no. "Sorry…It sort of disappeared while everybody was debilitated."
Hakkaku and Ginta exchanged questioning glances before turning back to Kagome. Ginta was the first to speak. "How did you escape the vines?"
Kagome pointed her finger at her chest. "Me?" When they all nodded their head she couldn't help but blush and look down at the ground in embarrassment. "Well…I seem to be immune to them. This isn't the first time I've encountered them either. Last time Naraku and Kikyo were behind them, they used to it to trap my friends while they took my jewel shard."
A deep resonating growl reverberated through Koga's chest at the sound of the vermin's name. He scanned the area, all of his senses on high alert. There had to be more to this little trap than these foolish roots. The fact that they had easily slipped into the trap had startled him more than anything. He had to be more careful now. He had Kagome and Shippo to protect, he couldn't just rush off to meet impending danger without first securing their safety. His claws dug into the palm of his hand. This is all my fault to begin with…If I hadn't ran off at the first sign of a jewel shard none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have put Kagome in so much danger!
A tentative hand on the bare skin of his arm brought his thoughts to a halt. Kagome's brown eyes stared up at him with concern. "Koga…is something wrong?" She asked quietly as she scanned the area, reacting to his stiff and alert posture.
He forced his body to relax a muscle at a time. It was harder than it should have, but seeing Kagome torn apart in front of him had him on edge despite it only being a nightmare conjured up by dark magic. He forced a smile, though he was sure it never reached his eyes. "Everything is fine, Kagome."
Hakkaku and Ginta once again exchanged knowing glances. Something was wrong with their fearless leader. What had he seen during his state of unconsciousness. Both of the younger ookami had seen the same thing as each other. It wasn't pleasing by any means, but it wasn't something so horrible to cast a haunted look upon their faces. Koga's deepest fear must have truly been terrifying to shake him up like this. Ginta looked down at the kitsune and motioned for him to come over.
Shippo seeing the summons, crawled up the wolf's back and perched on his shoulder. "What?" He asked curiously.
"We are going to look for food, you want to come?" Hakkaku replied, hoping the child would take the bite. He really didn't want to outright say they were giving their leader some alone time with his woman. It seemed like the most logical choice to relieve his stress. Kagome always made him feel better.
The young fox wasn't buying the reason, but after several pleading looks and hand gestures from Ginta, he took the hint. "Sure!" He smiled. He cast a weary glance at Kagome and Koga. I hope everything is alright…
Kagome and Koga stood in complete silence after their friends made themselves scarce. Kagome's hand never left his arm as their eyes stayed intertwined. Not knowing the reason for Koga's sudden change in demeanor, she was beginning to think she had done something wrong. She wanted to pull away and demand he tell her what his problem was, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew her feelings were unjustified, she knew deep down, she hadn't done anything wrong and he was only recovering from what seemed like a very traumatizing nightmare.
"Koga…"She whispered as she pulled her hand from his skin and placed it close to her heart. "Koga…I know it isn't my business, but what did you see?"
Her voice snapped him out his daze. He shook the fog from his mind along with the horrifying images of her broken body. He took note of her timid posture and they way she covered her heart with her hand as if trying to keep it from breaking. He hated seeing her like this and he knew it was his fault. He withdrew from her so suddenly after the screams of his comrades reached his ears. He still felt like they were in danger and he couldn't bring himself to relax, therefore forgoing his usual attentiveness with Kagome. Not once had he asked her if she had been hurt, or if she was alright. Was this the cause of her demeanor?
Kagome's breath caught in her throat as Koga's arms wrapped around her, pulling her tightly to his chest. He pressed his nose against the top of her head, taking in her scent, making sure she was unharmed. Satisfied with his search he placed the barest of kisses on the crown of her head. "I thought I lost you Kagome…"
Despite his words Kagome couldn't help but be drawn to the rapidly increasing beats of her heart. Blood pooled in her cheeks and her breath hitched. What is this feeling? She asked herself as heart continued to try and flutter from her chest. She stayed motionless in embrace, unsure of how to react. When he hugged her like this before, she was overwhelmed with relief and couldn't help but return the hug. This time, she wasn't sure what brought on his actions. She knew he had feelings for her, but he never actually embraced her quiet like this. She could feel him taking deep breaths through his nose as he buried it into her hair and his own rapidly beating heart.
Kagome felt her body beginning to relax and take comfort in the strength of his arms. Even in the year she traveled with Inuyasha, he never held her like this. On occasion he would show overwhelming concern for her safety, but he never held her like she meant the world to him. He always ended up yelling and berating her, telling her it was her fault all the bad things happened. She always thought it was because he didn't know how to express love, but now she wasn't so sure. Standing here in Koga's arms, Kagome felt for the first time that she truly meant something. That she wasn't just a jewel shard detector, but a human girl with feelings.
"I'm not going anywhere Koga…I promise." She whispered into the cool metal of his armor. She didn't know what made her promise such a thing, but it felt right. She couldn't see herself leaving Koga or his loyal friends for the world. It would take an event of monumental importance to draw her away from her new family. Family… The miko rolled the word around in her mind before deciding she like the word.
Koga's embrace loosened as he brought his hand to cup Kagome's chin. With a gentle pull of his hand, his little miko was starring up into his now heated blue eyes. He searched the depths of her sepia eyes, searching them for any signs of rejection. Finding only unrelenting love and devotion, he brought his lips down against hers in the barest of touches. As much as he wanted to devour her with his mouth, he knew she was still innocent.
The touch of his lips against hers felt like being bathed in the sun. Warmth filled her from her lips down to the tips of her toes. She never would have imagined her first real kiss would feel so good. Sure she had a brief kiss with Inuyasha when they were fighting Kaguya, but it was a kiss of desperation, nothing like the warmth she was feeing now.
A chill ran down her spine as his lips left hers, dragging a quiet moan of protest from her throat. With a slight smirk, the wolf prince brushed his mouth against hers once more, this time take more liberty with her mouth. He swept his tongue against her lower lip, begging for entrance. He growled as her lips parted and his tongue slipped past her lips, exploring and tasting every inch of her mouth.
The laughter of their companions returning caught both of their attention, forcing them apart. Kagome turned away from Koga, her face red with embarrassment. She didn't know what came over her, her body acted of its own accord. She tried blaming her body and raging teenage hormones for her behavior, but she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed his kiss.
"Hey, were back!" Ginta announced as he stepped through the trees.
Koga smirked as he cast a sideways glance towards Kagome. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could smell her arousal and her embarrassment. He forced his eyes back towards his friend. "So…where is this food?" He chuckled knowing full well why they left in the first place.
Hakkaku scratched the back of his head. "Well…we couldn't find anything…"
Koga could only shrug. "Oh well. It's late and none of us got much sleep, why don't we try to rest until the sun comes up."
Everybody nodded their heads in agreement. The sun wouldn't be up for a couple of hours, and that would give them time to recover from the nights strange events.
Kagome rode on Koga's back while Shippo hung back with Hakkaku and Ginta as they made their way back to the campsite. It didn't take long for everybody but Koga and Kagome to fall asleep.
Kagome laid curled in her sleeping bag, staring up at the tops of the trees, trying to spot the glow of stars. Her fingers traced her lips absently as she thought about the heated kiss between her and Koga. Never in her life had she expected to share such an intimate moment with anybody other than Inuyasha. Now that she had time to think about it, she waited for the pain to settle in her chest. To her surprise it never came. Not even a trickle of shame made its appearance in her heart. Have I really gotten over Inuyasha so quickly? It's not surprising considering how things went. He was always thinking about Kikyo. Whenever he would catch her scent, no matter how far away it was he went to her. Deep down I always knew he would pick her, that is why I don't regret kissing Koga. My heart has moved on.
Koga took his place beside Kagome, watching her for signs of rejection. He shifted through the array of emotions that were rolling of his little miko, waiting for the one emotion to burn through. His eyebrow raised into his bangs as a smile crossed Kagome's face. Her emotions had settled, giving off the wonderful scent of happiness.
"Koga?"
"Yeah?"
She turned her head so she could see his face. "Thank you." Before Koga could ask what for, she shook her head softly, cutting off his voice. "Thank you for making me feel like somebody. I never realized it before, but Inuyasha only treated me like a shard detector, and never showed me any real affection. You however, you made me feel something tonight, Koga. You made me feel like I was worth something."
He didn't know how to respond to her bold statement because he hadn't expected those words to fall from her mouth. Of course she was worth something, how could she think any different? Inuyasha, what have you done to this poor girl? He growled inwardly.
He repositioned himself closer to where Kagome lay. She smiled at him before she abandoned her pillow for his leg. He couldn't stop his face from betraying his shocked expression. His woman was willingly coming to him for affection. Always in the past it had been him to initiate any kind of contact unless she was crying and in need of comfort. With a gentle smile, he placed one hand on her arm while his other ran through her ebony locks.
"Kagome…You will always mean something to me." He said softly.
With a simple yawn, Kagome's eyes closed. She was overly tired and Koga's leg was proving to be a much better pillow than her own pillow. It take long for her to drift off into a blissful sleep void of nightmares and discomforts. She remembered the dream she was having before they were so rudely woken.
I pick…Koga.
A/N: I just want to thank all my readers that have left review, they are like air to a writer, you can't live without them! ^.^ You guys are amazing! Secondly I'd like to let you know that since I don't have much of a life outside work, I should be pumping out roughly 4-5 chapters a week! How cool is that!
Ja Ne!
