AN: I know you all hate me by now for working on this instead of my other unfinished stories, but this just came pouring out of me out of nowhere.
A cold wind whipped through Kagome's thin jacket, making her shiver. A strong arm, pouring out heat, wrapped around her shoulders affectionately. Looking up at her personal heater, a smile touched her lips as she pondered the steadfast ookami walking next to her.
He really was like her own knight in shining armor, constantly saving her and looking out for her well being after all these years. A small flame in the back of her heart flickered to life. Maybe she wouldn't always be alone like Inuyasha had said after all.
Of course, Inuyasha only said that because they'd gotten into one of their world famous arguments again a few months ago, only this time she had decided she was done with him completely. She'd been tired of the abuse, the name calling, and his general mistreatment of her. What had started as a childhood crush on Inuyasha had been stomped out by his constant barrage of insults on her, and she'd decided enough was enough.
Which led to her current situation the last few months with Kouga by her side. When he had run into them a few days after the explosive fight, Inuyasha was still off sulking somewhere and Kouga wasn't willing to leave their group unprotected. So, they'd joined up with Kouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku, despite the massive tantrum Inuyasha threw when he returned. And Kouga figured the pack could deal without him for a while, at least until Naraku was dead.
But even with Inuyasha's constant grumbling from the front of the wandering group, it was actually really fun to have the small pack of wolves around. Shippo was able to practice his pranks on Ginta and Hakkaku much to their dismay, and Kouga had a surprisingly good sense of humor about it all. And the small stirrings of friendship and romance between Kouga and Kagome was doing quite a bit to bolster morale in spite of Inuyasha's foul moods.
And so that was how Kagome found herself today, smiling and blushing a bit as she tentatively linked hands while they walked. She looked up into his eyes and then quickly away, feeling embarrassed at the innocent bit of public affection he was showing her. The last rays of sunset behind them dappled across their faces and reflected in the blazing blue of his eyes.
"If this is too fast or something just let me know Kagome. I don't want to push your boundaries or anything. I just like being close to ya." Her heart nearly melted at his soft words. Everytime he thought about little things like her modesty or basic comfort that little flame of affection in her heart grew just a little bit stronger.
Truly, it showed the stark contrast between him and Inuyasha. There were things Kouga did for her and she didn't even realize it until someone else piped up and said something. Just yesterday, he let them set up camp early, which confused her until Ginta had asked if the guys could use the nearby hot springs after the girls were finished with them. It was just a given in their minds to take care of the rest of the group. It was in their nature as ookami.
Slowing her steps subtly to give them more privacy at the back of the group, she whispered over to Kouga that she wanted to talk tonight after everyone was asleep. It was a weird feeling, wanting to be around someone as much as possible and getting butterflies over every little thing they did. Even weirder was that the other person actually seemed to feel the same.
"Of course we can talk later." His thumb was tracing over her hers distractingly, and she barely caught his whispered reply. Was this how it was supposed to be? No fighting every day over every decision, no cruel words and harsh tones, just simple acceptance and companionship.
"We're here." Kouga's voice rang out to the others ahead unexpectedly, though where "here" was Kagome couldn't exactly tell. With a flare of his demonic aura, the forest to the right of the group seemed to shimmer and melt away, revealing a path leading up to the entrance of a small village.
Kouga's soft breath tickled her ear as he bent to whisper, "The inn over there is run by a fox named Daichi that my father used to know. Normally this village wouldn't let in humans but there's only 3 of you so it's probably fine." Keeping her hand tightly entwined with his as the group walked forward toward the bustling village made Kagome's cheeks heat in an ever present blush, but it was worth it.
As Kouga stopped in front of the tiny ryokan, two small fox kits ran up to Shippou and suddenly he was scampering up her leg. "Can I go say hi? Please?" Puppy dog eyes had always been her weakness.
Looking to Kouga for reassurance that it was safe and seeing when he nodded, she reminded him to stay within sensing range, to meet them in the onsen at dark, and to call for Kouga if anything happened. Shippou fist pumped the air and zipped off to play.
A few scant minutes later all the adults had shuffled into the inn and those with shoes had politely taken them off in the genkan. A kindly older demon had greeted them warmly, though his greying bushy eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline when he saw Kouga clasping Kagome's hand in his.
Letting the rest of the group go settle in and bathe, Kouga settled their tab and was surprised to find that the old geezer told him they could have three rooms with garden and onsen access for the price of one larger room, since those were booked solid for a mating ceremony. Chuckling and Daichi's wink and shooing motions, Kouga set down Kagome's bag in the room and then quickly tracked down the rest of the group to the traditional unisex baths.
After peeling off his furs Kouga dropped them in the inn's designated wash pile and grimaced. He hated knowing that other people would be washing his clothes, even though everyone else's clothes were in the pile too, but at least this inn provided everyone with sleeping yukata. He thoroughly scrubbed off the dirt and grime from traveling and took the leather tie out of his hair to wash it.
As he finished rinsing off the suds, the sweet sound of Kagome's giggles rang through the air and he hurriedly pulled his hair up into a loose bun. Grabbing a hand towel off the stack to cover himself, he pulled the shoji door open and stepped into the perfumed steam.
Old Daichi had really outdone himself for that mating ceremony it seemed, Kouga noted with a raised brow. Every inch of the onsen surface was covered in soft iris petals and romantic candles glowed around the edges of the spring. Across the onsen he could just barely make out the forms of the rest of the group where they sat on carved stone ledges. As he waded over to the pack, he grinned at the sound of Shippo and his betas verbally ganging up on Inuyasha. Served him right, always picking on Kagome.
And speaking of Kagome, as he looked over and saw her lounging next to Sango he couldn't help but grin. She was so gorgeous, even sweat-slicked and puddled into the water while relaxing. Kouga was about to step forward to join them when a harsh yank on the bun of his hair stopped him in his tracks.
"Oi mutt face, I wanna talk to you. Let's go." Kouga was too surprised at Inuyasha wanting a one on one to even growl. Following silently, his eyebrows drew down in confusion when Inuyasha turned and sat on a ledge facing Kouga, and motioned for the wolf to sit as well. A few awkward minutes later, Kouga was staring awkwardly at the half demon as Inuyasha looked away.
"Listen asshole, I don't like you. I hate your dumb face and you always smell like you need a bath." Rolling his eyes, Kouga was about to leave as Inuyasha started in on him, but the hanyou held up a hand. "But while I may dislike you, for some reason Kagome doesn't feel the same way. I've seen the way she looks at you and if there's one thing I know about Kagome, it's that there's no changing her mind once she's made it up."
Golden eyes turned to meet blue and the staring match that followed was rife with underlying meaning. "Just promise you won't keep her from me. Don't smother her, protect her, and make her happy." A terse nod had them both agreeing to an unspoken truce. Neither particularly liked the other, but they both wanted Kagome in their lives.
As Kouga made his way back to the rest of the group he noticed that the girls had exited the onsen and he had to forcibly drag his eyes away from Kagome's form. Even though the inn provided modesty towels, there was nothing modest about the way that towel clung to her body. Accidentally catching her eyes, Kouga could feel a blush dusting across his cheeks as she waved back at him and bit her bottom lip.
As the two women made their way back into the changing area, Kouga heard a snort from behind him and rolled his eyes. The wolf stretched, feeling the coiled muscles beneath his skin lose their tension as he lounged back onto a nearby ledge.
"So boss, you gonna make your move tonight?" Ginta's voice warbled a bit nervously as he asked the question they were all asking. "You know she'll probably say yes." Hakkuku piped up helpfully. Kouga was about to respond with a snarky comment when soft agreements came from the rest of the group of guys.
Rolling his eyes, Kouga threw his hand towel at his betas and exited the springs, shaking head to toe completely nude. Wolf whistles and comments about how Kagome was a lucky woman had him grinning. Hell, maybe he would ask her to be his mate when they had that talk later.