Welcome back! And thank you to MichiruAOZ, Darktemp, g2fan, foxy85, Bird That Flies At Dawn, and Lioness Of the fire!
kagomes pup: Kouga actually comes in this chapter, I know you've been looking forward to seeing him, I hope he doesn't disappoint!
crazyone256: I AM SO HAPPY YOU THINK THIS IS CUTE!
Lioness Of the fire: Oh jeez, I'm glad you think so! Honestly, I have this bad habit of writing every second of every day into my stories and not jumping ahead to when something happens, so if their days seem overstuffed it's because of that :D
You guys are going to meet Kouga this chapter, so get ready for a windstorm!
That morning passed unlike the previous one. The members of the travelling party were silent, for the most part. Jaken mumbled a few times about something or other that had to be taken care of once they returned to the Lord of the West's castle, and threw in snide comments about how the servants would most likely take bets on how long Kagome would be able to last in said castle, but Kagome ignored him while she got ready for the day.
Together the group traveled on, and for a few hours she was content. Not exactly happy, she wasn't quite ready to be happy just yet, but she felt better than she had. She closed her eyes, tilting her head up so that she could revel in the feeling of the sun on her skin as she continued to walk behind Sesshomaru.
"Kagome!" Rin's tiny voice had a half-second to register before she ran smack into the back of a stationary Sesshomaru.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" She said, startled. "I'm sorry for running into you, but why did you stop in the middle of the road?" He was not looking at her, just staring at something she couldn't yet see. "What's going on?"
"A minor annoyance that needs to be taken care of." He replied smoothly. "Rin, miko, get on Ah-Un. This Sesshomaru does not wish for you to be in the way." Rin easily complied, but Kagome stood her ground.
"Get in the way of what?" He said nothing and slightly turned to face her when she refused to heed orders. "I'm staying here, I'm going to help."
"You will only be a hindrance, miko."
"I can stand up for myself, thank you very much!" She was now yelling and had assumed her "I'm-not-taking-your-crap" pose: arms crossed, hip jutted out, eyebrow quirked, brow creased. "And I want to know what's going on!" She was surprised by a sudden feeling of weightlessness, Sesshomaru had wrapped his arm around her middle and held her, dangling, against his side. She kicked and flailed her arms, to no avail. He set her on Ah-Un next to Rin.
"You have an unwanted visitor, miko." With that said, Ah-Un took to the sky. Kagome began searching the plains from her new perspective, searching for a flash of red. But instead of red, she saw brown. Oh no, not now… She sighed, slumping down to put her face in her hands. Well, I don't want Sesshomaru to kill him, I should probably go down there.
"Rin, could you please ask Ah-Un to let me down, if I can get a chance to talk to Kouga, everything should by fine." The small girl nodded, and whispered to one of the dragon's heads, it also nodded, and decreased altitude to let Kagome back onto the ground. She held her hand up as a visor from the sun as she watched Ah-Un regain his previous height above the ground. She knew that the dragon wouldn't allow Rin to fall, but, better safe than sorry. Once she was certain the little girl she already loved was as safe as possible, she returned to Sesshomaru's side. "What are you planning on doing to him, Sesshomaru-sama?"
"Hn." Well, at least he didn't ignore me.
"Just let me talk to him, you don't have to fight." She made her tone a complacent one, trying to find a diplomatic solution.
His hand twitched toward his sword. "You cannot smell his intent, miko. This Sesshomaru can."
She was more than used to cryptic responses from the tall demon, but she was still confused. "What do you mean by that? His intent?"
"You shall find out soon enough, miko." Oh dear.
"Kagome!"
Before she could turn to look she was swept up into a tight hug and spun in circles that sent her head reeling. She was certain the world had turned into a lava lamp at that moment.
"Kagome!" If possible, Kouga crushed her into an even tighter hug, effectively cutting off her air supply completely.
"Um… Kouga…" Kagome struggled to speak. "I-I can't… breathe…" She was sure she had turned blue by now. He squeezed her tighter for a half second before dropping her completely. She looked up at him to see his confidant smile. He hadn't changed a bit, bright blue eyes sweeping her face from underneath an unruly set of bangs that just wouldn't stay behind his headband no matter how hard he try to keep them restrained. His black hair was tied in a high ponytail, and brown his tail swished happily back and forth. The wolf demon still believed he had a claim on her, it seemed. She would have to set it straight once and for all that she did not like him that way. "Now, Kouga, about me being 'your woman,' I'm-"
"Finally back!" He interrupted. "And now you are mine! Come on, let's go home!" Giving her no time to respond, he picked her up bridal style and started running. He only made a few steps before Kagome felt herself dropped suddenly. "Shit!" The wolf demon helped her up, and then inspected a long, bubbling gash wound on his right arm. He turned to glare at Sesshomaru. "What the hell was that for?"
-Sesshomaru POV-
Mine.
Possessiveness flooded him at that moment. Instinctually he sent his poison whip flying, wounding the misguided demon on the arm. Tensing when the wolf dared to touch her again—despite the contact coming from having to help her regain her footing—Sesshomaru had to restrain himself from slicing the lower-level demon apart then and there.
He strode forward towards the wolf, who now had a defiant look in his eye. The child did not know where he stood. He would enjoy teaching him his place. However, one thought was prevalent above the others, Mine.
Mine.
MINE.
So, what do you guys think of Kouga's entrance? And Sesshy's reaction? :D I am super excited for the next chapter! Now all I have to do is write it…. Well, until next time! Please review, and THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING!
