The sea. It was vast-seemingly endless-and it surrounded his home. It was the door that separated him from the rest of the world.
He'd heard stories of the lands that lay beyond it. When he was smaller, they had fascinated him. Then he met Kagome. The girl from the future. And the tales of lands across the water lost their magic and mystery.
Now, the sea was just the sea. The lands beyond didn't matter anymore. What mattered now, was her. She was the rest of the world, and the door was the old Bone Eaters well.
He only knew of one key capable of opening it.
The jewel.
The one piece he'd found was taken from him, so he'd moved on to the only other place he knew to look. The sea. It was in there for the taking. The largest piece, thrown to its depths by Naraku, lay waiting for the day they could retrieve it.
They hadn't planned to leave it for so long. They'd decided to find the remaining few pieces scattered on land, first. There were so few, and they hadn't expected it to take more than a few months.
Then Kagome disappeared back to the future, leaving no hope of finding them. Leaving no hope at all. Inuyasha abandoned the quest, and he did as well. Having found a piece of the key to bring her back, ignited that lost hope.
He'd find a way to make the well work for him-he just needed the she was back, they could finish the job. And maybe, just maybe, she could save Inuyasha, too.
He was doomed without her.
He scanned easily through the mist and fog with his emerald demon eyes, to the rocky terrain below the cliff side. There was a small cave there, home to an old friend. There was no sign of light or life, but he knew she was there.
He and Inuyasha had found her living there, several months after Kagome's departure, while the half demon roamed, aimlessly, in his grief.
It was Asagi, the little half-demon girl they'd helped liberate from the island. She hadn't stuck with the younger children. They'd all gone inland, and she was too attached to the sea to stay away.
He approached the cave carefully, not wanting to surprise her. She was only a half demon, sure, but she was older than himself and the most powerful demon he knew was only half. Caution was wise.
He sniffed at the entrance, listening for any sound inside but smelled only salt and brine, and heard only the crashing of waves.
"Shippo?"
A sweet voice from behind him asked his name and he sighed in relief. He did not want to go inside. He turned to greet her and smiled at the sight of her. She was soaked, water dripping from her fingers and hair.
"It's good to see you." He said. "Out for a swim?"
She nodded, looking around for something or someone. "Where is Inuyasha?"
He had no idea. And he answered honestly.
"I don't know. I came to ask for your help."
Worry knit her brows. "Is he okay? Did something happen?"
"He's fine." He assured her, hoping it was true. "What I need you to do will be much more difficult than tracking an old dog."
"It's getting cold."
Kagome said nothing, and stubbornly stilled the involuntary shivering, as if it'd fool him.
"Too cold." He continued.
She drew the bear skin tighter around her shoulders and clutched it closed.
"It's not even winter yet." She quipped.
"It's time, Kagome."
She sighed, her breath escaping in a puff of white, in the light of the moon that filtered through the nearly bare trees.
"I don't feel right moving in. I know the wolves are welcoming, but I'm still an outsider. And a human as well. I'm loud, and clumsy, and I smell. I don't want to put them out."
Kouga let out a throaty chuckle.
"You're worried for nothing. You've got more grace than you know. You move differently than you used to. You're more aware of yourself and surroundings. And believe me. You don't stink."
His encouragement was expected, and she did believe him. He wasn't one for patronizing, but she meant what she said. No amount of compliments could convince her that she could fit in. There'd only ever been one place here, that gave her that comfort.
"I think you smell nice." Kouga added, after several moments.
Hearing those words distracted her from the matter at hand. She almost thought she hallucinated it, but the playful, flirty grin on his face told her she'd heard him right. She couldn't even produce a phony smile for his benefit. She turned her head away to hide her face.
She wasn't sure if he'd see the pain as she thought of Inuyasha. Kouga's words echoed her ex lover's.
Ink black hair, brown eyes, and ears on the side of his head rather than where they belonged.
'You smell nice.'
It certainly hadn't been the last time he'd said it. After Naraku's death-when it was just the two of them-he'd made it more than clear just how much he liked it. What it did to him. He never knew what his own smell did to her. She never told him, and she never would.
"Well, demons don't ever stink." She rushed out, desperate to rid her thoughts of him. "You guys have like, a special gene or something that keeps you from smelling like shit."
He laughed out loud and she loved that sound so much it actually made her feel better.
"I don't know what a gene is but you haven't been around long enough to notice. Wait til next spring when I send the guys to clear out the tunnels. The critters nest in the deeper unused spaces, and they don't smell pretty. They come back smelling just like 'em. And somehow worse."
Waiting. Until next spring. She felt like she was always waiting for something these days, but she didn't voice it. She smiled for his benefit and clapped her hands together beneath the fur pelt.
"Well. Let's get to waiting then. I'm ready."
"Really?" He asked as she stood to pack up her things.
"Better now than when it snows. But I have some conditions."
"Okay." She heard him say, skeptically, behind her.
"You made a mount for the torch. Which was a pain in the ass. So it will be used well. Torch stays lit at night."
Another chuckle. "Done. Anything else?"
"Our lessons continue as usual. Unless it's a snow day."
"Fine. You need them desperately anyway."
She hurled the water skin she was holding back at him, for the remark, and he dodged it easily.
"I can actually move when I'm using my powers now. Give me some credit."
He held his hands up in surrender. "You're right, you're right. You've gotten pretty good considering the few weeks you've been practicing."
She thought about her training since the incident with the cats, and that feeling of waiting weighed on her like a wet towel. It was like her instincts were trying to remind her of something. Her spiritual energy thrummed more loudly every day. It was telling her something. She was afraid of what it was.
"Anything else?"
She shook the thought away, and shook her head no at his question.
"Ah, wait. One last thing." She lifted her full pack and held it out to him. "Carry my bag?"
He rolled his eyes, smiling at her antics even as he took it from her, and it made her smile that she knew how to make him do the same. He shouldered the monstrosity with ease, and before she could protest, snatched an arm around her waist.
"I'm gonna make a wolf out of you woman." He teased, taking off in a sprint toward the den.
She rolled her eyes at the remark. "I may be many things before the end, but a wolf will not be one of them."