Tourniquet

Chapter Eleven

Sesshoumaru glared at Kouga as he shut the door to his study. As formal as always, the inuyoukai sat down behind his desk, knowing the formidable picture he made. Kouga chose to lounge in a chair, always looking casual. The wolf demon just couldn't seem to ever look too businesslike.

"You will not call Kagome your woman in my presence ever again," he stated, voice calm, but his eyes spoke of violence the wolf youkai would never recover from.

Kouga almost shivered at the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes. "She's my woman though," he said bluntly. No dog demon was going to take his woman from him, especially not some taiyoukai.

"Not while she's in my house," Sesshoumaru stated. "She is under my protection, and you calling her your woman distresses her. Her distress annoys me, as it causes more tears. If you cannot act with honor at my house, do not return. I will not tolerate your actions again." He was toying with different ideas on how to kill Kouga without anyone, especially Kagome, finding out. She was happy to have a friend back, but Sesshoumaru was starting to regret bringing Kouga back to life. The wolf had been more useful dead, and definitely less annoying.

"If it distressed her, she would tell me." The wolf demon felt nervous, but he wouldn't show it. He had to continue to act casual; he definitely wouldn't let Sesshoumaru walk all over him. Kagome was his to keep. "And Kagome does more than tolerate my actions." He grinned wolfishly, letting Sesshoumaru think whatever he wanted. After all, the miko was his woman, not Sesshoumaru's woman.

That hint was enough to turn the dog demon's eyes red. "You court death, wolf demon." The statement was so empty of emotion that Kouga cringed. Sesshoumaru smirked, showing off his long fangs. "Do not think I won't kill you here in my study. My acid will leave no trace of you. I may have to replace the rugs, but it will be an insignificant loss."

"Dear Kami, I didn't know you were this attached to humans!" Kouga snapped, and instantly regretted it. A moment later, he found himself pinned to a wall by his neck. He had not expected Sesshoumaru to react so strongly. If he had hit on Samantha, he doubted that Sesshoumaru would have even spared a second glance. Wolf demons were known for picking one mate for life and being extremely loyal. However, Kagome seemed to be special to him. Maybe something had occurred in the past between them that he didn't know about. Whatever was going on, Kouga wanted out of the house and away from Sesshoumaru.

Claws dug lightly into his neck, and Kouga swallowed nervously. For the first time in his entire life, he knew that Sesshoumaru would rather have him dead than alive. He hadn't expected so much power, proving that Sesshoumaru's power had increased since the last time he had used it. That thought was rather scary, and he suddenly understood that there wasn't anyone alive who would be able to stop Sesshoumaru if the dog demon wanted to kill someone. The only one with enough power would be Kagome, and her heart was too bright and pure for her to kill someone unless they had done something beyond redemption.

All that translated into one, small, tiny point. Kouga was dead meat.

Sesshoumaru tightened his grip around the wolf demon's neck, the claws on his other hand glowing a sickly green. "Do not anger me further, wolf." He couldn't remember being so angry before. He had disliked Inuyasha, but he was beginning to hate Kouga. Kagome was not Kouga's woman. She wasn't anyone's woman. She was his rescuee, and he would not let some idiot try and take her away before she was fully healed and back to normal. Until she was back to her normal self, she was his to protect, and his alone.

The anger was thick enough that Kouga could feel it pressing against his skin. Or was that Sesshoumaru's youki? Either way, he was scared. Very scared. Even the youngest demon would be able to feel the power throbbing in the air. It was like the entire room, even the air he was breathing, was under Sesshoumaru's command, and any second the dog demon could command the air to crush his lungs.

"For cheering up Kagome, I will let you live," the taiyoukai said, eyes still red but voice calmer. His power slowly lowered to a more normal level. "Next time I see you, you would do well to act with more honor, or I will remove all ways you have of truthfully making Kagome your woman. Hands, tongue, and dick." He released the annoyance and walked back to his desk. "Go, now, and do not let Kagome see you leave."

Without saying anything, Kouga turned tail and ran out of the house. No one saw him leave, not even Kagome.

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Kagome was thoroughly disappointed when she didn't get to talk to Kouga before he left. She asked Sesshoumaru about Kouga at dinner, and she had coldly been told that Kouga had important business matters to attend to and would not be returning for a while. The miko hadn't liked the inu youkai's phrasing at all, and if she were the suspicious type, she would have sworn that Sesshoumaru had purposely scared off Kouga. However, she didn't see any reason why Sesshoumaru would scare off Kouga. They were allies, and while Kouga was annoying, he wasn't mean or evil. He was actually really nice and sweet when he wanted to be. Still, Kagome got the feeling that Sesshoumaru did not like the wolf demon.

Mentally shrugging, Kagome got ready for bed, changing into pajamas and curling up in bed. Perhaps Kouga would visit again soon. While he was annoying, and he obviously hadn't given up on her, she had missed him.

Yawning, she curled up under the covers, and let sleep claim her.

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Kagome awoke screaming, not even realizing that she was screaming someone's name. Her power flared out, searching for something stable, anything solid to fight back the horrible nightmare, the horrible memory. She had experienced Inuyasha's wish and transformation all over again. She had gone through everyone's deaths and the rape over and over again, each time more bloody and violent. She had finally forced herself awake, her heart beating fast from terror.

She launched herself out of bed and threw open her door. Before she knew or understood what she was doing, she was running down the hall and up a flight of stairs. Nothing felt real enough to her. The carpet under her bare feet, the painted wall her hands touched, nothing felt substantial. It was like the real world had become a dream, and the only real thing was her nightmare.

Throwing open another door, Kagome rushed in and ran to the bed, sobbing and shaking. Finally she noticed that she was calling out Sesshoumaru's name, and then she was curled up in his lap as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

He frowned down at her, her face pressed to his bare chest. What had upset her so badly? If the wolf demon had actually talked to her before leaving, he was going to hunt the bastard down and kill him. With Kagome being a more pressing issue, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind and put his mind to comforting the young woman. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her tangled hair. 'She must not have slept well to turn her hair into such a mess,' he thought, although he did note that her hair was still silky and fragrant.

Kagome wrapped her arms around him, relaxing a little. He felt real, much more real than her nightmare. He smelled like the woods of the Sengoku Jidai, and she could feel the warmth of him. Concentrating on Sesshoumaru, the horrible memory faded to the background, losing form and substance. The nightmare lost its hold on reality, freeing her.

"What has upset you?" Sesshoumaru asked when she had calmed down. She was still shaking badly, but her tears had slowed to a trickle.

"I had a nightmare. I remembered everything that Inuyasha did," Kagome replied softly, clinging to him. "It was horrible, and it kept repeating again and again, worse each time." She forced the nightmare back a little more, forcing herself to think of nothing but the inu youkai she was talking to. 'He feels so warm, and his skin's so smooth.' He was turning out to be a very good distraction.

"It was merely a dream, a memory of yours," he told her softly, his deep voice vibrating in his chest and through her. "It will fade with time. Months or even weeks from now, it will seem like nothing."

"I hope so." Tears continued to run down her cheeks as she nodded, rubbing her face against his chest. She felt so much better. Despite how little the dog demon talked, she knew that he did care. He had cared enough to save her, and he cared enough to comfort her. He hadn't thrown her out, nor had he yelled at her for all her tears. He had been nothing but calm and patient and kind. He was her anchor in the midst of her storm of emotions and pain, and she desperately needed someone strong to cling to at the moment.

Sesshoumaru continued to stroke her hair, picking some of the knots out with his claws, as she slowly calmed down. When her tears had finally stopped, he noticed that she was asleep, her dreams obviously peaceful. The small smile on her face was testament enough to that.

He didn't really feel like carrying her to the other side of the house, and he didn't want to wake her to go through the tearful session again. Sighing, he leaned back, laying her on the bed next to him. She shifted a little, staying as close to him as possible, but she didn't wake. That was the only relief he had.

If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he didn't mind the idea of sharing a bed with her. She smelled pleasant, despite all her crying, and she was small enough she didn't take up a huge amount of the bed. She didn't seem to hog the covers, but she did snuggle a little close to him. But again, if he was honest with himself, he would have to admit that he liked that.

Of course, he didn't want to be honest with himself over any female.

'One night will not make a difference. She is not a child who will think I will let her sleep with me every night because she's scared of some monster,' he thought, relaxing so he could return to sleeping. 'And she had better not snore.'

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CotA: Yay! A chapter with some fluff. Now I'm getting somewhere. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be to this, but I think I'm at least halfway through. I think. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed writing it.