Chapter IX: Trouble Stirs


Kagome pushed back and kissed him equally as hard, responding with a fervor her innocent pecks had never alluded to. Her lips were warm and demanding, capturing his in a murmured gasp, and her hands traveled up behind his neck, twining into the base of his ponytail.

Kouga lost all semblance of control at her reaction, and pressed the girl tight to him, growling as he would for a mate. Unconsciously, he moved to mark her shoulder, leaving her mouth and grazing teeth against the skin of her lower neck.

The village came back into focus as he broke the kiss, and smug voices pierced the haze. The youkai remembered they weren't alone and jerked away, struggling to suppress instincts demanding she be branded and claimed. Kagome's curves in his hands made it hard, and though he told himself to let go, his fingers only grasped tighter. He gave a look to the heavens, grateful for the extra folds of fabric in his borrowed pants.

Sen whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they're so guarded in public. It's practically a peep show."

Teru bobbed his head in agreement, his jaw wide. "They kiss like they haven't seen each other in months – like they're about to rip each other's clothes off."

"Not that you'd know from experience," Sen laughed.

Kouga glared over at the two men, anger surging at having been kept from his right, and fought to speak evenly. "No need for running commentary gentlemen," he cleared his throat of growl. "I can kiss my wife however I want and don't need it analyzed by the bachelors of Enomoto."

"Ouch," Teru doubled over, taking a mock blow. "Note to self… Kouga is touchy when covered in gore."

"Touchy and armed with claws," Kouga added dryly.

"Very true."

Satisfied, Sen and Teru moved off to watch Umi try to protect his sister's honor, oblivious to how close to home their remarks had come. The pair began baiting their friend as if nothing were out of the ordinary, and Kouga exhaled slowly, staring down at the woman in his arms.

Her lips were swollen from his fangs, and she breathed in ragged, uneven bursts. A small twinge of pride made him smile at her obvious loss of composure; at least he wasn't alone in being completely disarmed. "You okay?" He tucked some stray hair behind her ear, lingering at her jaw.

Kagome's mind was sluggish, coated in a haze of surprise and pleasure. Vaguely, she realized Kouga had spoken to her. "Huh?"

His smile faltered. "Are you okay?" Worry edged into his face. "Did I hurt you?"

She shook off the fuzz blanketing her senses. "No, not at all," her hands remained in his hair, and she looked up with half-lidded eyes. "I think we should try that again. Just to make sure they're convinced."

Kouga glanced over his shoulder. "They're not even watching—."

She pulled him forward, stifling the rest of his sentence with another kiss, and he obliged, slipping fingers to her back.


Hiro took in the reunion silently, standing far from the general commotion as hunters set down weapons and women rushed to embrace them. He knew he was staring, but couldn't pry himself away.

He watched Kagome draw the youkai in for another kiss and clenched his jaw. She knew no one else, now that he had returned, and had run to find him without a second thought or backward glance. Hiro palmed his chest, feeling the warmth of their afternoon together disappear.

He used every ounce of will to drag his gaze from the couple, meshing together with the ardor of a seemingly-first kiss, and scowled into the ground, hating every pebble by his feet and feeling just as insignificant. His eyes fell upon a flower crushed in the dust, and realized it was the one he had placed in Kagome's hair. It lay crumpled and forgotten, and he smashed it into his heel angrily.

Someone noticed Hiro's glower. Teru glanced up from Umi and Itsumi, now arguing, and saw the healer standing rigid on the group periphery. He watched the man lift his stare from the earth and followed his line of sight to Enomoto' newcomers.

Wiping his hands together, Teru left Sen's side and walked towards him. Hiro tensed as he approached, forcing his eyes from Kagome just as Kouga ran a claw lightly down her face.

Teru came up wearing a smile. "How're you Hiro?"

"Fine."

"We got three ermine for the new warding spell you needed."

"Thank you."

Teru's smile dimmed under the detached politeness, and he let his voice harden. "She's spoken for you know."

Hiro arched a brow. "Who?"

"You know who."

The healer crossed his arms. "I don't see Yukami out here."

Teru frowned. "So what?"

"So you're giving me female advice?"

The hunter gritted his teeth. "I was only trying to save you the trouble, friend."

"Don't bother," Hiro returned to the girl, now retreating with her husband. His eyes narrowed as Kouga slipped an arm around her waist.

Possessive bastard.

"You look like a fool, and the whole village can see it," Teru muttered, leaving with a scowl.

Hiro ignored him and watched until the last rays of sun faded below the horizon. When he couldn't make out shapes anymore, he moved for his hut, in a mood to open the mug of ale he kept under his bed.


Kouga's face felt like it was on fire. His blush darkened as Akina left, showing Kagome where the hides used for drying hung before stepping from the room.

He held his blood-stained shirt in his hands and fingered the fabric absently. Standing bare-chested before the woman he was growing more attached to than the human bond of 'marriage' defined, he shifted in unease, wondering how the air could become so perilously quiet in so few seconds. Although he and Kagome had woken without clothes, that was before any crushing hugs, long looks, or kissing, and now he slunk in on himself, riddled with self-consciousness.

Akina had insisted he bathe. Eichiro and Sen had gone to the hunting lodge to sing and drink, refusing to wash off their 'war paint', and the persistent headwoman had settled for the next male staying under her roof. Kouga didn't have the savvy timing of father and son, and his shirt had been lifted over his head and the water heated before he could politely refuse. Now, he stood rooted to the spot, a steaming drum waiting patiently in the corner, and eyed a pile of crushed soap root to avoid looking at the girl letting the hide door fall closed.

Kagome moved hesitantly toward him, crossing the room and clearing her throat. "My brilliance strikes again," she tried for a smile, but it broke at the ends. "First a kiss, now a bath. Guess you were right about my lie getting us into trouble."

Kouga groped for his voice, but managed nothing, nervously working his claws against the crusted shirt instead.

She stepped closer and cupped his hands, stilling his restlessness. Prying the ruined garment from his grip, she tossed it to the floor, and said, "We'll worry about it later. I'm more concerned with you."

He felt something in his chest stir and raised his head. "I'm fine."

Kagome took his hands and pulled them to the sides of his body. "I'll be the judge of that."

Kouga allowed her appraisal, hoping he didn't fall short. Did she know what he'd almost initiated? Was she considering him? Blood stained his entire front, and he watched her do a visual check, not measuring suitableness, but making sure none was his own.

Kagome let her gaze roam, taking in the cut of honed and oft-used strength no amount of red could mask with a clinical eye. Satisfied, she returned to his face. "What happened in the forest?" She asked softly.

He didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Was she really just checking that he wasn't hurt?

"Nothing…," he replied automatically. "Sen was just being dramatic."

"But you were so upset when you got back."

Kouga didn't want to talk about the dog demon. Every nerve told him not to bring him up, and a deep memory warned against mentioning him to Kagome. "Really, everything ended up fine."

"Kouga," she released his wrists and placed hands on her hips. "I know everything ended fine. I want to know what happened, and how it started."

The warning in his gut screamed caution. "Seems like you started something of your own this afternoon," he countered lightly.

Confusion doused her face.

"Why was that healer staring at you?" He pressed.

Kagome's mouth dropped. "Deflection! Unfair tactic."

"We don't have rules."

"Yes we do. Answer my question."

"Answer mine."

Kagome frowned. "Hiro wasn't staring at me; he was watching the hunters return."

"No. He definitely watched you the entire time."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know who looks at you. And I notice how they look," Kouga crossed his arms over his chest and fought the returning blush from his face.

Not wanting to seem scolding, Kagome forced her hands from her hips. "What does that mean?"

"It means what it means," he shrugged.

She frowned again. "You still haven't told me what happened today."

Kouga scratched his chest and exhaled loudly, blowing bangs from his face. "I sensed a nearby demon, and we used the game we'd gathered to mask our scent."

Kagome gave him a wary look. "Why keep that from me? I thought something was wrong."

He pushed himself to utter a half-truth. "It made me worried. It was disconcerting knowing one could wander so close to the village."

She gauged him. "Is that it?"

He nodded, not meeting her gaze.

Kagome pinched the space between her eyes, sighing. "I don't believe you."

"What?" He peeked up at her. "It is."

Her look turned knowing, and Kouga cringed.

Kagome's fingers spread to her forehead, sweeping her long hair over her head. "Why won't you tell me? Do you think I'll be mad or something?"

"There's nothing to tell."

He smelled a spark of anger flare in her.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

The flare grew, coating her scent, and Kagome pushed against his chest without warning, sending him back a step. "You are!" She looked on the verge of a growl. "Your voice might not go high like mine, but I can still tell. Knock it off and just tell me!"

"Don't be ridiculous," he raised both his palms, backing up. "What more do you want me to say?"

"The truth!"

"Tell me what you're expecting to hear, and I'll say it!"

Her face darkened. "Why are you acting like this? What's really bothering you?"

Kouga sniffed, smelling hurt mingle with her anger.

Kagome ducked her eyes. "Are you different… because of… earlier?" Her words disappeared down to a whisper.

Kouga knitted his brow together. "Earlier?"

Reluctance sank her shoulders. "The… kiss?"

"No, no!" Taking her low shoulders gently, he pulled her into his arms. "Not at all."

She peered up at him. "Then what is it? Please trust me."

Her eyes were imploring, and Kouga warred with himself, torn between keeping the hanyou a secret and confiding in the woman already more important than any he'd met.

"The demon seemed to be tracking us," he said lamely. "I felt guilty for endangering the other hunters."

Kagome shook her head. "Why feel guilty? It wasn't like the demon was after—," she stiffened in his arms, and Kouga realized his error.

The gaze looking up at him turned hard. "Was he someone we used to know?" Dawning fill her face. "He was. And you were trying to keep it from me!"

"It's not like—."

Her hands pushed against him. "Let go of me."

He resisted. "Just listen for a second."

"No!" The hands became fists, and Kouga felt his own temper rise.

"You were the one who wanted to hide here," he snapped.

"Hide – not be left in the dark!"

"I was just trying to protect you!"

"Me? Or yourself?" Kagome struggled, wrenching herself free. "Was this demon a hanyou?! Were a monk and a demon slayer with him?!"

Kouga's eyes widened. "How did you know he was a hanyou?"

"Because Hiro saw him in a vision."

"Hiro?" A frown creased his features. "That gawking healer?"

"He wasn't gawking," she huffed. "He can see the future, and we're all in it. We save Enomoto from a powerful youkai, and a white-haired hanyou aides us."

Kouga made to grab her again, warring with a sudden jealousy that surprised him. "A man who stares at what isn't his doesn't sound like a reliable source."

Kagome evaded his hands, shocked at the anger surging through her. "And who's exactly am I?!" Her cheeks went red. "Yours? The guy who doesn't even trust me with my own past?!"

He lunged forward, clamping hold of her wrists. "You're posing as mine," he jerked her toward him, crashing her into his chest. "So Hiro shouldn't be undressing you with his eyes."

Kagome collided with tense, angry muscle, crying out at the impact. She found her voice and didn't care that it shook. "Do you remember that this is pretend then? That we're not really married?" Her mouth moved against his skin. "I'm not your property!" She cursed and tried pounding against his shoulders, but he kept her wrists immobile easily.

"In this moment, I'm painfully aware," Kouga's glare smoldered. "You badgered me like I had to answer to you, but you're not my wife."

Kagome writhed against him. "No, but I thought I was your friend."

"Friend?" Kouga scoffed. "Friends don't push each other. They listen to boundaries."

"All I wanted was for you to be honest with me!"

"And I don't want to lose you!" Kouga felt his mouth get away from him. "You want honesty? Fine," he snarled and bared his teeth, knowing Kagome would recognize the display of displeasure despite her race. "This hanyou I smelled in the forest? He was looking for me – for us. Every fiber in me tells me he's trouble. It says that I can't trust him, and that he'll take you from me."

Kagome stilled, shaking her head in disbelief. "What are you talking about?! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Oh no?" The claws at her wrist began to dig into her skin. "Then tell me you don't want to find him now that you know he's out there. Tell me you don't care, and that it doesn't matter," he shook her. "Go ahead. Tell me."

Silence flooded the room.

"That's what I thought," Kouga spat. "You say we're friends, but here we are, having a shouting match about someone we can't remember and don't even know."

Kagome's face scrunched up in pain. "You're hurting me."

He loosened his claws immediately. They had sunk down, leaving small punctures in their wake, and the coppery scent of blood wafted up between them. He had pricked her skin. "Sorry," he murmured, his chest heaving.

She slipped her arms from his grip and rubbed a wrist gingerly. "We're fighting because you didn't trust me enough with the truth."

Frustration boiled over, as much for his actions as her words, and he growled, "I learn from the best."

Kagome's eyes went wide, and her fingers paused. "What?"

"Don't act like you don't know," Kouga seethed. "You lied to Akina and Eichiro. Don't lecture me about trust."

The room's candlelight reflected the sheen of building tears in the girl's face. "W-What?!" She stared, slack-jawed. "I told them that to protect us!"

"No one asked you to."

Trembling before him, she bowed her head. Amid the shake, her jaw tightened, showing clenched teeth within. "You're right," she muttered. "It was a mistake. What was I thinking?"

The edge in her voice bled his anger, and he realized he'd gone too far.

Blinking through tears, Kagome looked up coldly. "I never should have kissed you."

Kouga's shoulders deflated, and the ground dropped out from under him.

"I think you should leave," she said flatly.

"I want to stay."

Kagome wiped her face as wetness spilled down her cheeks. "I don't care. Get out."

"Kagome…."

"GET OUT!"

Kouga's frame sank further, and she hugged herself, stepping to the side as a mix of indignation and hurt, more heady than any of his fury, flooded her scent.

His legs were as rooted as before, frozen now in horror instead of nerves. Long seconds, laden with damaged feelings, ticked by, and he finally sighed, walking past with a cringe as Kagome turned her back to him. His feet felt like lead, and he forced himself to take the ten steps to the door. Reaching for the hide, he stopped as she cleared her throat.

"Find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

The cold words punched like a fist to the stomach; Kouga's chest tightened, and he nodded mutely, slipping from the room.


Darkness swallowed him as he broke outside, and Kouga bowed his head, leaning against the headman's hut, letting the night air soothe his regret.

He cursed into the silence, visions of Kagome in tears pounding between his temples. How had things unraveled so fast? They went from a first kiss to a first fight – who did that?

Kouga sighed in disgust. He had known she would want to find the hanyou, known she'd leave him and Enomoto without a second thought. She had been the one who had begged him to stay, and now he was to be abandoned.

His hands fisted in frustration; there was something important about the dog demon he was missing, a nagging memory refusing to touch his consciousness. If only he could remember.

Kouga pushed off from the hut and decided to make his way to the hunting lodge, hoping there was still some ale to drown in. He stepped from the shadows just as voices echoed into the village square. In no mood to talk unless under the influence, he drew back against the building. With heightened senses, he made out a man walking fast after a woman.

The man's voice was loud and unrestrained, clumsy from drink and full of accusation. "Have somewhere else to be Reina?" He asked.

The woman spun around, and even from a distance, Kouga could see she was livid.

"You're drunk Toushi. Go home."

"Alone?" He lurched to a stop. "After you so kindly forgot to greet the hunting party, I thought you'd be eager to see your husband and make it up to him."

"I told you, I was helping Eika sort baskets. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Everyone else's wives were," he slurred. "Akina, Itsumi… even the youkai's woman rushed over."

"How many times do you want to hear it? I'm sorry."

Scorn contorted Toushi's mouth. "I was surprised you didn't show up. Sen was part of our party," his tone grew ugly. "Maybe if you were his wife, you'd have come," he grabbed the woman's shoulder, and Kouga saw her flinch in pain.

"You're hurting me."

"Good. You'll understand how I feel."

"Stop it Toushi," she stepped back, and he raised an arm high.

"See what its like," he growled. "Every goddamn day, I live knowing the person I love, loves my best friend. I live knowing everyone else knows," his hunt-marred arm swept down towards her.

Claws appeared from the darkness, capturing his fist. "I wouldn't do that friend," Kouga strode from the shadows. "Too many women have already cried tonight."

Toushi looked up, sluggish confusion in his eyes. "Youkai? Where the hell did you come from?"

Kouga felt uncomfortable intruding, but he wouldn't let something happen he could prevent. "You don't want to do this. Don't make it two men who've hurt those they love this evening."

After a moment of muddled recognition, fury splotched the hunter's face. "What do you know?! Is your wife pining after a person you trust? Does she refuse to sleep with you because she's afraid she'll envision his face?"

Reina flushed. "Stop talking Toushi. That's not true."

"Liar," he moved to strike her with his free hand.

Kouga caught the second, scarred wrist, scowling. "I know where you're coming from."

"The hell you do."

Standing there, Kouga realized why the hanyou had made him uneasy. It hit like a toppling wall, and his next words were quiet in the night air. "I know what it's like to be second in their eyes," he glanced at Reina.

Toushi exhaled noisily, bits of spit flying from his mouth. "You have no idea what second means Youkai – how it feels loving a woman who sees right through you."

"Actually… I do," admission stumbled from Kouga as if it were alive. "I know the weight of not being good enough – of going unnoticed, of being 'the friend'," he closed his eyes as fragments of recollection surged forward. "You're going crazy wondering why you're not him. What you could fix. How you might change."

Toushi's anger faded, and his mouth dropped into an 'oh'.

"It'll be different one day," Kouga's voice dwindled to a whisper. "You'll take her to a new place, and create a new life away from him. You'll swallow your lie, and eventually, it becomes as good as truth."

A sober note entering his voice, Toushi asked, "Is a lie love?"

Kouga managed a small shrug. "It's more than we could hope for," he knew he was speaking from experience. Experience with Kagome.

"How did you win her? Your wife, I mean."

He sighed, letting go of the man's arms. "I didn't. Not really. I risked it all, gave up everything I knew, and she's still not mine," he looked again to Reina. "We know better than most Toushi. Marriage doesn't change their hearts."

Toushi lowered his head, a pensive expression mingling with the slowness of alcohol. "Then there's no hope for guys like us?"

Kouga smiled in spite of his painful realization; he was being referred to as an equal – a peer in suffering. "I'm not giving up. Neither should you."

The man nodded and looked over at his wife, who stood with her arms wrapped around her sides.

"I'm sorry Reina. I'm a drunken fool."

"I know," her anger had cooled during their exchange, but she kept her distance. "Next time you come back from a hunt, I promise I'll be there."

Toushi gave a half-hearted smile. "I think I'll sleep this off at the lodge."

Kouga clapped him on the back as he'd seen men do throughout the day with each other. "Good idea. I had planned to drink myself into a stupor. Rehashing old memories is ugly work. Still have it in you to go another round or two?"

Toushi snorted. "Are you kidding? I'm upright and walking, aren't I? Obviously Eichiro's latest batch of ale isn't that strong."

Kouga nodded gravely and began leading the man away. "Let's test it all to be sure."

"Yes… it's our duty to leave only the highest grades for our brothers."

"Excellent. Our selflessness is sure to gain points with our wives."

Toushi scoffed. "I've been trying for almost a year Youkai. Your struggle's only just begun."

Kouga smiled. "Then I better work up my tolerance. I have a feeling I'll be visiting the lodge stores often."

"You will," the man laughed bitterly. "And I'm sure I'll be right there to commiserate."

The unlikely pair walked together through the night. Under the banter, Kouga forced his memories down, refusing to undo the carefully wrought lie he'd swallowed. The truth could wait one more day.