Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

1,162 words, originally posted on 3-19-14

"Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you,

Go see the world 'cause it's all so brand new,

Don't close your eyes cause your future's ready to shine,

It's just a matter of time before we learn how to fly.

Welcome to the rhythm of the night,

There's something in the air, you can't deny…"

Fair Warning

Kouga tinkered with the cables he was replacing on a used upscale road bike, not concentrating at all on his task. His mind kept wandering toward the colorful signs taped to his front window, one offering fall rides through Central Park and the other bicycle safety courses, both available through Sunset Dojo. Kagome had stopped by his shop that morning, gleefully showing him the posters she had designed herself, giving him a stack to hand out to customers and taping two larger versions to the window. Kouga hadn't had the heart to tell her that most of the posters would probably go unused, as he had so few customers to hand them out to in the first place.

He had watched her as she worked, her calf muscles flexing attractively as she stretched to reach the high corner of the poster, her skirt swishing around her thighs as she settled back on the ground. Though he craved simple companionship, Kouga was undeniably attracted to her, something he was determined not to let get in the way of their partnership or blooming friendship.

He sighed dreamily as he thought of the way she had smiled before she left the shop, brightly informing him she would see him later that evening. Kouga was still caught in his daydream, goofy grin plastered on as he toyed with a loose cable, when the bell to his door dinged merrily. He shook himself from his reverie and was shocked to see Inuyasha scowling in the doorway, glowering at the many bicycles lining the wall and the parts displayed around the store.

Kouga cleared his throat. "Can I help you?" He barely bit back the urge to call him "dog turd."

Inuyasha stalked closer and roughly shoved the bike Kouga was repairing to the side.

"Hey!" Kouga protested, leaping to his feet.

"What the hell do you think you're tryin' to pull, huh wolf shit?" Inuyasha growled, invading Kouga's space.

Kouga stuck his nose right back in Inuyasha's face, not willing to be the first to back down and appear weak. "I don't know what you're talking about, dog breath. I'm not pulling anything."

"I know you're just workin' with us so you can get in Kagome's pants, you asshole," Inuyasha sneered. "You ain't interested in offering bike classes or whatever other shit you guys came up with behind my back. Well, I ain't gonna stand for that. Nobody messes with Kagome, not while I'm around."

Kouga was so surprised that he forgot his plan to appear threatening and backed away in shock. "What are you talking about?" he wondered incredulously, almost forgetting his anger. "I'm not doing that!"

"Keh! Right," Inuyasha spat, not looking like he believed Kouga's innocence for a second. "You expect me to believe you're not interested in a beautiful, kind, strong-willed woman who couldn't care less what planet you're from, let alone what species you are?"

Kouga had to fight down the flush that wanted to creep up his neck at Inuyasha's uncanny perceptiveness. If he hadn't been so concerned with defending his own intentions, he might have wondered if Inuyasha harbored similar feelings for Kagome.

Rather than admitting his infatuation (he felt he would rather die than admit his affection for Kagome to Inuyasha first), he deflected the question rather neatly. "Did you talk to Kagome about this before you came barging into my store, accusing me of taking advantage of her by going along with her ideas for the dojo, after she practically begged me to give it a chance?"

Kouga knew he was laying it on a little thick, but the answering scowl on Inuyasha's face was worth any hyperbole. He could tell from the guilty glint in Inuyasha's eyes that he had done nothing of the sort, and that he knew if he had confronted Kagome, she would have shouted him into oblivion for the suggestion.

Inuyasha seethed silently for several moments, seemingly attempting to rein in his temper with little success. Kouga decided a bit of gloating wouldn't hurt his situation too badly, and with a cocky smirk on his face he sneered condescendingly, "Anything else I can help you with, pup?"

Inuyasha allowed a low growl to rumble from his throat, and he once more invaded Kouga's personal bubble. Kouga flinched inwardly at Inuyasha's obvious rage, wondering if he had perhaps pushed the hanyou just a little too far.

"If you so much as breathe at her wrong, you'll be dead so fast your soul won't know what hit it. They'll still be finding pieces of you weeks after I'm through, got it, you fucking mangy wolf?"

"Duly noted," Kouga replied drily, squashing down the thrill of fear he felt at the seriousness of Inuyasha's threat. He had no doubt that if he did hurt Kagome, Inuyasha's revenge would be swift and terrible.

With another menacing rumble and a dark glower, Inuyasha stalked out the door of the bike shop, the merry tinkling of the bells contrasting sharply with the atmosphere dragging behind him.

Kouga let out a relieved sigh that the possessive dog had given up for the time being. He would have to tread carefully in the future if he didn't want Inuyasha to discover his crush and rip his heart out of his chest for his presumption. For that matter, he would have to tread carefully around Kagome's even more dangerous roommate, who would sooner kill him than look at him under normal circumstances. He couldn't imagine what Sesshoumaru would do if he were to discover his less-than-platonic feelings for Kagome.

He wished again that he could talk to Ginta and Hakkaku. Their den in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture in Chubu was well out of cell phone range, however, and they certainly didn't have any kind of internet connection. Without written confirmation via snail mail that they would visit the city and call him well in advance of the actual call itself, he had no hope of talking to them. He could try to set up a time to talk with them, but it seemed silly to make them go to so much trouble so he could confess he was having girl troubles.

For the time being, he would have to deal with his problems on his own. He had no doubt that Kagome was worth it; the question was whether he could handle the dual pressure of keeping his feelings locked away while working so closely with the object of his desire and fending off jealous protectors, no matter how misguided they might be.

Kouga sighed again. Life used to be so simple… boring and lonely, certainly, but he longed for the effortlessness he had lost. Then again, if he had to do it over, he would rather get sprayed in the face, punched in the nose, bowled over by oppressive auras, kicked in the shin, yelled at, threatened and attacked a thousand times over than give up meeting Kagome even once.