Oblivion
Chapter Fourteen
DAYS
It was sheer force of habit that awoke Kagome so early the next morning.
She blinked her eyes open and yawned, stretching out her arms and legs as she stared, slightly bewildered, at an unfamiliar ceiling.
Her arm collided with the spanse of a warm, bare back.
"Ow," Okada muttered into his pillow.
Kagome's heart immediately began to pound as she realized where she was and who she was with and just what she had done with him last night. With a huge smile spreading across her face, she immediately curled up around him, slipping her arm over his waist and pressing a small, delighted kiss to his shoulder.
He was laying on his stomach, his long dark hair hanging over the opposite shoulder, his hands fisted into the bedroll beneath his pillow, and he simply grunted in acknowledgment of her and remained still.
Not a morning person, then, Captain? Kagome suppressed a giggle as she stroked one leg over the backs of his own.
"Go back to sleep," he grumbled, as his hand reached up to gently bop her on top of the head.
"Nope," she said, "That's an order I won't obey today. I've skipped training for days in a row now and I can't let it happen again."
"Then get your ass out of here and let me sleep," he griped, ruffling her hair before turning onto his side, arms folded, facing the opposite wall.
"Noted," she said brightly, sitting up and reaching for her clothes, which Okada had apparently flung in a heap against the wall when they'd entered his room last night. At least he hadn't left them downstairs; that would have been an awkward, half-dressed walk to retrieve them.
It felt strange, after such a night of passion and abandon, to be putting on her boy outfit as if nothing had ever happened. As she tied her chest bindings in place, somehow it felt different, much more like a costume or disguise than it ever had before.
Probably has something to do with having let someone see everything and touch everything and know everything, she mused, her gaze traveling over her shoulder to rest on Okada's quietly sleeping form. Whatever it was, it was strangely comforting to know that there was yet another secret between them, one they held just for each other and that bound them even further together.
Once she was fully dressed, her sword and bow strapped on, her fur cloak draped across her shoulders, she tied her hair into its topknot and paused only to lean over him and plant a fleeting kiss to his cheek.
He actually smirked in his sleep.
Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes as she left to try and find some breakfast.
"Ugh," Sango groaned into her bowl of rice porridge, "I feel like death." She hung her head low, her eyes cast with dark shadows.
"That doesn't surprise me one bit," Miroku said congenially, patting her on the back gently, "You did have an awful lot of sake last night."
"Did we sleep in the same room?" She looked up at him grumpily as he took a bite of his own breakfast.
Miroku just nodded.
Sango pouted. "Why?"
"Is that so repulsive a thought?" He probably sounded more bitter than he'd intended, because she looked a little surprised, so he added quickly, "It was more out of concern for your health than anything. What if you'd choked on your own vomit in the middle of the night?"
At that, Sango looked a little green, and she dejectedly put down her soup spoon and pushed her bowl away.
Miroku fought back a laugh as he spied someone approaching. "Oh, good morning, Sota."
It was strange, seeing this person in front of him again, now that Miroku knew what he knew. Sota had been a very pretty boy, but he was an even prettier girl, even in clothes several sizes too big and with hair pulled back in a topknot.
"Morning," Kagome said with a tentative smile.
Everything that had happened the night before seemed to come flooding back to Sango all at once, and Miroku watched in real time as she slowly turned several shades of crimson and attempted to disappear behind her own hands once again.
"Feeling any better?" Miroku said, trying again not to laugh as he patted Sango's shoulder once more.
Kagome nodded, sitting down at their table with a satisfied smile. "Much," she said.
Miroku raised an eyebrow, asking her with his eyes, Did something happen?
She just gave him a mysterious smile and wrinkled her nose at him playfully, not saying a word as she started in on her own porridge. "Either of you care to join me for training this morning?" she asked through a muffled mouthful.
Miroku blinked and stared questioningly at Sango. "Training?"
Sango just nodded weakly in answer to Kagome's question and reached out to take another shaky bite of her porridge. Apparently, she was going to need her strength.
Miroku was wonderfully confused as to what Sango's training could possibly entail. Sure, the girl could scale thirty-foot walls like it was nothing, but surely her background was similar to what he now knew Kagome's to be - sheltered, sequestered, kept away from all sharp objects and stressful situations.
Then again, she was the last remaining heir to leadership of a famed mountain tribe.
Color him intrigued.
And in about twenty minutes' time, he was to get all his questions answered.
"Ugh," Sango grunted, lowering her boomerang arm with a frustrated grimace. Still not anywhere near strong enough, she thought bitterly to herself. She was trying to be patient, but with an arm like this, she felt practically crippled. And if the next youkai strike came sooner rather than later, she'd be a sitting duck.
She wasn't used to being a sitting duck.
Miroku was still staring at her. She knew it. The second she'd bled on her weapon and it had sprung into full size, all he'd been able to say was, "That. Is the biggest boomerang. I've ever seen."
A typical reaction whenever outsiders laid eyes on her soulbound weapon, to be sure.
At her right, Sota - Kagome, that name was going to take some getting used to - had found a low-hanging tree branch and was doing full sit-ups from an upside down position, her legs hooked around the branch and locked in tightly. The girl's ill-fitting shirt and hakama seemed to be more in the way than anything, and every time she went for another repetition, her shirtfront fell open, revealing those telltale chest wraps that seemed uncomfortably tight and restrictive.
"This might be a silly question," Sango called up into the tree as she transferred the boomerang to her off-hand and lifted it above her head with ease, "but why not just drop the charade and be a girl? Surely after they've seen how hard you've worked, how capable you are - "
"This is the shogunate army," Miroku interjected safely, "Not Taijiya. In our ranks it's all about tradition and propriety." He said the words with a biting sarcasm.
From her upside-down perch, Kagome nodded, her hair already loosening from its updo and hanging straight down. "I could be court-martialed," she said, "or worse. Women around the troops are viewed as distractions at best, liabilities at worst."
Sango huffed in frustration at this idea, shaking her head slightly. Did this mean that any idea she'd had of firsthand revenge would be a moot point in the present company?
"Besides," Kagome said with a shrug as she grunted and pulled her body up once more, "there are some benefits that at least alleviate the annoyances. No one looks twice at me here."
"Now, we both know that's not true. You've distracted more than your share of folk around here," Miroku's tone was teasing, and Sango found herself wondering just what he meant by that. Does he have a secret thing for Kagome, too?
Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Shut up, Miroku," she said, with a slight flush to her cheeks. "What I meant was, I'm judged by skill and skill alone. I had a lot of catching up to do when I got here, and no one gave me any credit unless I improved. So I had to get better."
That was fair enough, Sango supposed. "You should still get some proper-fitting clothes when you get the opportunity," she suggested, "It would make it a lot easier to get around, I'll bet."
Kagome smiled and finished her set of crunches, allowing herself to hang limply, arms dangling above her head. "It would," she agreed, "but new armor comes first. I have to be ready to charge in headfirst again, but preferably without putting poor, dear Miroku in danger again."
Sango turned to Miroku, who was grinning up into the tree and shaking his head.
"That reminds me," Kagome said, smirking, "I still owe you another slap for full-on groping me last night!"
Thwack. Sango, before she even realized her own actions, had reached out and kicked Miroku's legs out from under him. "I forgot you did that!" she exclaimed, standing over him angrily, arms folded.
Miroku coughed out a mouthful of snow, no doubt a little perturbed at having the wind knocked right out of him. "Hey! It was an impulse! I didn't mean it sexually!"
"How in the hell do you not mean to squeeze a woman's breast sexually?"
Miroku looked scandalized. "I was seeing if she was telling the truth!" He seemed to glance beyond Sango, looking to Kagome for some sort of help and finding none. "And anyway," he sat up, returning his glare to Sango, "you're one to talk. Practically climbing all over her and kissing her!"
Oh, gods. Sango felt her face flush red for the thousandth time. "That was different," she mumbled, not really believing it herself.
"Is it?" Miroku challenged. "Let's ask her, shall we? Kagome, which is worse, one tiny little squeeze of a breast for purely academic reasons, or a full-on drunken kiss attack?"
They never got a definitive answer; Kagome, still hanging by her bent knees from the tree branch, was cackling with laughter.
"Captain Okada," Naito said as Inuyasha entered the tent, still shaking his head to try and wake himself up, "Good morning. We've sent word to the daimyo that he may start his journey immediately. That more than likely gives us a week until his arrival in Ryusei. I know your men are on furlough, but do your best to keep them in check in the meantime. We need everything above board and ready when the time comes. I want to inspire his full confidence that we're serving him well."
"Understood, sir," Inuyasha said. Truth be told, that week of time seemed like a blessing from the heavens. A whole week, he thought, picturing Kagome's face in his mind's eye, where we're not soldiers in an unwinnable war. Where she's Kagome and I'm...I'm…
Okada. Not Inuyasha. Okada.
As Naito turned to address some of the other captains, he felt his hands squeeze into fists.
"Come on, Ayame," Kouga said, slinging his travel pack over his shoulder, "Time to go. We have to track the humans from Taijiya. Seems Inuyasha's hunch that the group would head south was sadly mistaken. There's been no sighting of them from any of our southern regiments."
Or any word from Inuyasha since, he thought bitterly. Sesshomaru's little lackey, that frog-like creature Jaken, had made sure to stop by and ask, no, demand to know if Kouga had heard any word from His Highness the Prince. Apparently he'd been solidly out of contact with Sesshomaru for an entire week and that wasn't like him at all. Had he gone rogue, as Kouga had teased? Or had the humans discovered his ruse? Either way, it wasn't going to be pretty when they caught up and figured out what was going on.
On top of all that, there was Ayame. She'd been acting so strangely ever since Naraku's visit. Tossing and turning with violent nightmares at night, to the point he'd had to get up and shake her into consciousness to stop her terrified cries. And sitting around forlornly during the day, looking wistfully out of the mouth of the cave and sighing, running her claws gently up and down her arms.
Kouga had found himself missing the bright, happy, eager side of her that he'd used to find so annoying. She'd always been his sidekick, from the time he'd rescued her from becoming another demon's lunch as a girl not even in her teens yet. He'd been a little older, a little less feral, a little more preoccupied with having to take leadership of their tribe earlier than expected, but she'd always been there, smiling and grabbing hold of his hand and nuzzling him affectionately even when she knew he'd rebuff her.
And now? Even as he spoke to her, she just looked up at him with vague disinterest as she pulled her own pack onto her back and wordlessly walked toward the cave entrance.
"Ayame," he said sharply, calling after her, "Where's your head at? You've been acting like an idiot lately. I need to know you're with me, here."
She paused mid-stride, and the look she sent over her shoulder was dismissive at best. "I'm fine," she said, "I've just been waiting until you were ready to leave, Lord Kouga. Lord Naraku's waiting for word from us. We have a job to do."
Kouga sent a silent glare to her retreating back, and it was with very unsettling thoughts whirling in his brain that he eventually followed along behind.
Sango landed smartly on her feet, sending the other two a triumphant smile. "How's that?"
Kagome knew her eyes were wide with appreciation. Even with her exotic weapon safely stored out of sight again, Sango's skills were formidable. A standing backflip, she thought with not a little jealousy, and with only one working arm, no less. She found herself once again wishing she'd been raised amongst the warrior women of Taijiya and not the meek, complacent feminine women of her own village.
But then again, as far as she knew, her own village still stood. So perhaps there was no reason to envy Sango. She was going through more than Kagome could possibly imagine, and staying surprisingly hardy and strong in the face of unspeakable, crippling tragedy.
Miroku, meanwhile, probably needed to be reminded to close his mouth as he stared at Sango. Apparently the revelation that Sango was more than just a spirited village girl had thrown him for a loop. He had a look of what could only be longing on his face. Kagome suppressed a smile as Sango sprinted forward, using only her good arm to launch herself off the ground and into a fantastically graceful handspring.
"Not bad," a familiar voice sounded a few feet behind Kagome, and she fought back the excitement that immediately stirred up in her chest as she turned to see Okada, who'd apparently just come through the snowy trees in time to catch the end of Sango's flip.
"Oh, good afternoon, Captain," Miroku said cordially, but not before sending Kagome a meaningful smile that made her want to clobber him over the head.
Okada nodded to him in acknowledgment, then returned his attention to Sango, folding his arms across his chest. "How's the arm?" he asked her.
Sango seemed surprised that he was asking. "Getting better," she said, a tentative smile crossing her face, "Thanks for asking."
Kagome felt her heart swell at the exchange, but she outwardly kept her cool.
"And you, Sota?" Okada turned to her next, and there was no significance or hidden meaning in the look he was giving her, just a distant, expectant gaze. He was back to being her commanding officer in front of company.
Or maybe not. Miroku, it seems, could always be counted upon.
"You can call her Kagome in front of us, Captain," he said, a shit-eating grin crossing his face, "We already know the whole story."
At this, Okada's eyes widened slightly, and then he gave Kagome a slightly perturbed look. "I see," he said evenly.
Sango, clearly reading the situation far better than the monk was, crossed the snowy field towards Miroku and all but dragged him to his feet by his shoulder. "Well," she said casually, gritting her teeth as she turned to Miroku, "I suppose you and I should get going, Miroku. You promised to buy me soup for lunch, remember?"
"I did?"
Kagome watched Sango dig her fingers deeper into Miroku's shoulder until, with a wince, he exclaimed, "Oh, so I did! See you later, you two."
Sango all but dragged him out of the trees as he sent Kagome a playful wink over his shoulder.
I really do need to remember to kick his ass later. Kagome gave a small, irritated kick to the gathered snow at her feet.
"You really think it was a good idea to let those two in on your deepest, darkest secret?" Okada looked scoldingly at her. "This isn't a game we're playing, here. There are consequences if you're exposed."
"I know," she said, "but I trust them both with my life. They're good people. The best people."
He scoffed and shook his head as he approached closer. "Always seeing the best in everyone," he said softly, "Hope they don't prove you wrong." At this statement, his eyes seemed to go far away for a second, and his smile faded briefly, before he blinked and gestured an arm at the field before them.
"Well, go ahead," he said, "Impress me. Show me what all that monk's special help has brought about."
Kagome immediately smiled eagerly. "I finally mastered the one I was practicing a few weeks ago! Here, I'll show you." She all but raced to the center of the field and then unceremoniously collapsed onto her back in the snow.
"Impressive," she heard him say in a dull, sarcastic tone.
She couldn't help but laugh. That was my first reaction, too!
And then she swung her legs out, propelled herself upward, and landed steadily on her feet, adding a sword flourish for good measure.
His face broke into that smile, that genuine, knowing smile that seemed so rare, that she loved so much. "Ahhh," he said, "I do remember that one."
She grinned and returned to his side, and he almost immediately seized her around the waist and pulled her close. "I liked it better with your clothes gone, though," he whispered huskily in her ear, and she gave a small laugh before leaning in to kiss him.
Is this real life? Is this actually happening? It was like her wildest fantasies had all come true at once. It was hard to remember they were even at war right now; she felt like the same delirious, lovesick teenager she'd always been, only now he was here in front of her and kissing her back and all seemed right with the world.
It was almost second nature, even after just one night together, that seemed to draw her hands toward the folds of his shirt under his winter cloak. She slid her fingers between the fabric, feeling warm skin.
"Your hands are freezing, not that you care," he grumbled, but his smile remained as his grip around her waist tightened further. Another kiss, more desperate and needy this time, and she moaned softly into his mouth, stepping ever closer, never quite flush enough with him for her liking.
She wanted him again. All the times she'd had him last night, to the point of mutual exhaustion, and she couldn't get enough. Insatiable, he'd called her jokingly, kissing the top of her head as they had finally drifted off to sleep. And she supposed he was right.
"As much as I'm enjoying this," he said, his voice a little hoarse and strained with the effort, "if we go any further right now there's no way I'm getting back to town on my own two legs."
"Me neither," she said truthfully, smiling up at him.
"If it makes you feel any better," he said, planting a gentle kiss to her forehead, "I did arrange for you to have the room next door to mine. That way any accusations of favoritism or impropriety can be explained away easily."
"My own room?" She hadn't had a room to herself in what felt like ages, and the prospect of having a place of her own to keep all her things safe and sound was much more exciting than it should have been.
"You're welcome," he said pointedly, and she rolled her eyes and thanked him, but not without a playful punch to his shoulder.
The next few days passed in a dreamlike haze. Inuyasha had told himself that they had a week, only a week, and for that week he was resolved to ignore the coming storm and all the ways he didn't deserve to even be in her presence and just lose himself in her touches, her kisses, her loud, boisterous laughs…
He found himself staying scarce around the remaining officers and enlisted men, preferring instead to spend hours in his bed with her curled into the crook of his arm, just talking about nothing and revelling in this peace of mind, the peace of mind he'd never felt to this point in his life.
One night, after making love, when they were sitting upright in bed and she was cradled in his arms, Kagome asked him about his family, and the dark weight of reality almost came crashing down.
"Why do you ask?" he said, purposely keeping his tone light and casual.
"Why do you think, idiot?" She reached up with a smile and gently tweaked his nose. "I'm curious. Why does anyone ask anything?" In private, he'd noticed, she'd taken very happily to teasing him good-naturedly and acting utterly comfortable around him, even when she still had to put on her subservient face in public.
"Fair enough," he said with a roll of his eyes, but he didn't endeavor to answer her until she gave him a questioning glance with those huge blue eyes of hers.
"Mother, dead," he said, probably a little more tersely than he'd wanted to, "Father, dead. Older brother, whereabouts unknown." There, he hadn't technically lied to her. He was tired of lying to her. Of course, being completely forthright would have meant adding that his older brother was, in fact, heir to the long-abandoned youkai throne, and then he was sure a whole bushel of further questions would have arisen.
Kagome clearly saw the look on his face and sensed he didn't want to talk about it, so she attempted to ease the tension by volunteering information about her own family. She told him about her grandfather, and her eyes glowed with pride. She told him about her mother and looked more than a little guilty. She told him about her younger brother, the actual Sota, and her eyes shone wistfully.
"Tell me this," he said, leaning his head over to rest on her shoulder and pulling her closer, "How on earth did you last as long as you did in that fancy household where you weren't allowed to curse or fight or get filthy dirty?"
That got a small chuckle out of her. "I got punished," she said simply, "A lot. My grandfather, and my papa before he died, both seemed to understand me a lot more than my mother did. Mama only wanted me to be a good bride."
The thought of Kagome as a bride, all done up in finery and daintily awaiting her husband-to-be at an altar, was equal parts charming and bewildering to him. "I think this life suits you much better," he said, leaning across to plant a kiss to the shell of her ear.
Her hand absently went up to ruffle through his hair. "I think so too," she said happily.
They spent only part of one night apart, and that was when Inuyasha openly answered General Naito's query in front of the entire company about who was ready to move to a more advanced division. He'd chosen four of the remaining eight in his dead-last trainees to move up, and he had to watch the anticipation and excitement fade instantly from her face when he didn't say her name.
When the assembly cleared and the soldiers scattered back off to different corners of the city, Kagome disappeared into the crowd, and it was only after scanning for several seconds that he spotted her, all but stomping back to the lodge. His attempts to catch up were futile, and by the time he arrived, sprinting up the stairs after her, she'd already shut herself in her room and locked her door.
"Come on," he said, frustrated and not a little alarmed at this complete turnaround in her behavior toward him, "Let me in so I can explain." He rattled the door frame, which refused to budge. There was absolutely no answer.
He scoffed in indignation and retreated to his own room to pace back and forth, doing his level best to avoid destroying the room's furniture in his rage.
Finally, after what felt like hours, he could stand it no longer and went to knock at her door again.
"I'm ready," she hissed through the paper wall, and he realized with a little alarm that she was standing right behind the closed sliding panel. "You know I'm ready. It's been months. I can beat any of those men in a fight, and you know it."
Inuyasha sighed, letting his head hang low. "I know."
"Then why - "
"Would it offend you if I said it's because I want to keep an eye on you?"
He heard something break against a far wall.
That answers that question.
"I work twice as hard to be just as good," she shouted, and he found himself self-consciously scanning his surroundings to make sure they weren't disturbing any nosy neighbors, "So when I get better, I want to be recognized for it. Sorry if that's selfish."
"It's not selfish," Inuyasha said dejectedly, "I'm the one who's being selfish in all this, and I know it. I just think…" He swallowed, feeling his face flush slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "...I think you and I are better when we fight alongside each other. That goes both ways."
The door slid open just a crack, and Kagome's face appeared, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Is that really the reason," she said softly, sounding a little less hard-edged than before, "Or are you just saying that so I'll let you inside?"
"Can't it be both?" He leaned against the door frame, eyes silently begging her forgiveness yet again.
After a moment or two, she slid the door open the rest of the way and walked past him, arms folded, into his room right down the hall.
"I'm still pissed off," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes as he followed her inside and shut the door behind them.
"I know," he said quietly, "I should have spoken to you about it first. I didn't expect him to ask me that in front of everyone."
Her eyes still clearly showed the hurt and embarrassment, even as she allowed him to place a tender hand to her shoulder and squeeze gently.
"It's my fault," he whispered, "I'm sorry."
I just want you close to me, for as long as possible. Whatever way I can get it. No matter what happens, I want to make sure you're safe.
Wordlessly, she grabbed him by his shirtfront and pulled him down to her lips, kissing him hungrily, then she pushed him down onto his bed with much more force than usual. It seemed she was willing to forgive him if he let her take him down a notch first. Take it out of his hide.
Inuyasha knew he wasn't supposed to like the notion as much as he did, and as she climbed onto his lap, straddling him while violently shedding her shirt and chest wraps, he fought to keep from relishing in it too much.
General Naito called assembly again the next day, very early in the morning, and Kagome, confused but already awake, gently shook Okada awake. He grunted and grumbled as he always did when forced out of a deep sleep, but when she told him what was happening, he seemed to sober up immediately.
"What's this about?" she said softly, reaching for her chest bindings and starting to wrap them around herself.
"The daimyo's coming," he shrugged, "Must have made better time than we'd previously thought." Okada didn't sound the least bit happy about this prospect, and he heaved a great sigh and ran a hand through his long, dark hair, staring at the floor dejectedly.
Kagome felt herself freeze in place. "The daimyo?" she exclaimed, "Here?"
Granted, she was certain Hojo's father wouldn't recognize her in this outfit, with her hair cut short and her face thinner and her body much more muscular, but it seemed dangerous nonetheless.
"You're from the daimyo's home village," Okada said, regarding her with an even look, "Aren't you? You worried he'll recognize you?"
"I don't think he will," Kagome said hesitantly, "I've only met him once or twice, and I look a lot different than I used to."
He seemed to think it over for a moment as he pulled his pants over his waist. "Either way," he said finally, reaching for his shirt off the floor, "you have my full permission to linger near the back of the crowds. Better safe than sorry."
They left one at a time, as they'd grown accustomed to doing, with him leaving first and her sneaking out a few minutes later, making sure to open and shut her own bedroom door rather loudly in case anyone was bored enough to track their movements.
"Sota! Over here!" Miroku and Sango beckoned her to a seat near the front of the crowd, but when she silently shook her head and gestured further back, they got up and followed her.
"Long time no see, kid," Miroku said with a wink. "I take it you've been otherwise occupied the past few days? Poor Sango and I have been so lonely, with only each other for company." He seemed to gleefully ignore the venomous looks the other two gave him.
"Shut up, Miroku," Kagome said, scanning the crowd stressfully.
"What's going on?" Sango asked, brow furrowed with concern.
"The daimyo," Kagome said, her voice a hushed whisper to both of them, "He's from my home village, so I have to keep hidden, just in case."
She watched as in the center of the circle, General Naito stepped into view, followed closely by Okada and the other officers, all looking grim and all-business.
"Surprised the poor boy can still walk," Kagome heard Miroku whisper to Sango under his breath, and she sent a well-aimed elbow straight behind her into his ribs, relishing in his cry of pain.
General Naito raised his arms for quiet, and the noise of the crowd slowly died down.
"Our esteemed daimyo is here to inspect the troops," Naito said in a booming voice. "He's even expressed interest in funding a tournament while he's here, so if you've any interest in winning a cash purse with your exceptional skills, we'll discuss it in the morning."
"Good way to boost morale, I suppose," Miroku whispered glumly, "Considering how well things have been going thus far, maybe we need it."
"Please remain in your seats, and allow our capable leader to say a few words to all of you." Naito stepped aside and motioned a figure through the crowd.
Kagome's eyes widened as she saw that the elderly, stately-dressed daimyo wasn't alone. A young man was following solemnly and closely behind him. A young man with reddish-brown hair and a kind, open face.
Her gaze snapped across the crowd to Okada's, and she knew from his reaction that she must be pale as the snow around them. He stared at her, then at the young man, then back at her, and she knew from his frown that he understood.
It was Hojo.
Sighhh. Well this is certainly a pickle, isn't it? He's BOUND to recognize her. Even with her boy cosplay.
This chapter was more of a fluffy interlude of adorable and I make no apologies for developing the cuteness further. Hahaha.
Kouga's new book, coming soon - "We Need to Talk About Ayame". He doin a concern, friends.
I think I'm delaying dropping the hammer down on these characters because I just love them so much and they're my precious babies and should be PROTECC. Oh well. It's gotta happen sooner or later. Definitely sooner, unfortunately.
Third chapter tonight! Gotta love my updating schedule. It's like nothing for a week or two and then BAM I'M A GODDAMN WRITING MACHINE AND YOU CAN'T STEM THE FLOW OF THIS FLOWWWW
Ahem. Anyways, you know the drill! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks bbs I luv yews - meggz0rz