Chapter 8

Back to the Beginning

For the first time in a long time, Ginta felt relief wash over him. So much so, in fact, he slid down to the perfectly soft grass behind the bush he and Hakkaku were currently hiding behind in the garden of the human temple.

Koga had done it! He'd won his woman back.

Whatever happened after this didn't matter. Ginta had made good on his promise.

Koga had forgiven him long before now for the losing Kagome from their territory. But, Ginta knew the pain of that loss had haunted his leader. Not many in the tribe knew Koga would call for her in his sleep. The begging had been enough to break the coldest of hearts. And, it had been all Ginta's fault.

He knew the one named Naraku was the cause of their suffering. He was why the tribes had to join to survive the winter and why Koga had to reprove himself from the very bottom, all over again. All of that, Koga had taken on without batting an eye. He was seen as indomitable, unstoppable.

But, the loss of his mate. That had broken him….. and that was on Ginta.

Now…. now things looked like they were improving.

Right now, his Alpha and Alpha female were seated beneath a blooming sakura tree, looking like something straight from an epic painting human artists were known for. They were smiling and talking and Koga had yet to let go of her hand.

With any luck, they'd next be heading back to the den.

"Oh, now what?" Hakkaku growled, snapping the other male from his reverie.

Ginta immediately jerked his eyes towards where his brother beta was glaring and felt his jaw lock in frustration. The female taijiya was heading towards the tree!

The male hunters had no idea what the human wanted but they weren't about to let her ruin a perfectly good moment their leader had more than earned.

Exchanging a nod of agreement, the two crouched low and started to prowl towards the female making her way by a nearby bush. When she was right in front, the two pounced…. and immediately ended up on their backs.

Ginta could barely sense the female walking away from them as the world continued to spin inside his head. Somewhere beside him, Hakkaku groaned in helpless effort. What had just happened?

Ginta decided he'd figure that out when his head stopped throbbing. 'Forgive us, Koga. We tried.'

SSS

Koga felt happy.

Completely, utterly, ridiculously happy.

For the first time in months, his tribe was safe, he was stronger than he'd ever been, and his woman was once again by his side. Nothing could ruin his good mood right now.

"Sango," Kagome called as she rose quickly to her feet.

Nothing except that.

Koga swallowed the growl in his throat. What was it going to take for him to have some time alone with his woman? The taijiya was really starting to annoy him.

However, he merely rose to his feet and followed after Kagome's hurried steps.

The female looked weary but satisfied. Apparently, the monk must have survived.

"Is Miroku alright?" Kagome asked, placing a comforting hand on the other female's shoulder.

The taijiya nodded with a weak smile. "He pulled through but, he'll still need a day or so to rest," she replied with a tired sigh. "I just….wanted to let you know."

Koga snorted. "And, you wanted to make sure Kagome didn't need any help."

"Koga!" Kagome gasped in scandalized horror.

However, Koga remained still, eyes locked on the taijiya in silent challenge, daring her to say otherwise. After all the trouble she put him through, the female owed him the truth, if nothing else.

Apparently, she was more tired than Koga thought.

Without so much as an argument, the taijiya nodded her head in agreement.

"No, no. He's right," she interceded calmly, patting Kagome's hand in return. "I did want to check on you and make sure everything was alright."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Kagome asked, brow furrowing in confusion. "Koga couldn't hurt me."

"It was more like I expected to find you and the Jewel gone," the female admitted, having the decency to flush with embarrassment before turning back to focus on Koga again. "I apologize for that."

Koga nodded in acceptance, feeling vindicated in her apology. How many ookami could say they got one from a taijiya, after all?

"I also apologize for your men," she continued cautiously. "They tried to stop me from coming and I think I left them somewhere over there."

Koga chuffed as he shook his head. So, that was where they were. He should have known.

"Oh, Sango, you didn't hurt them too badly, did you?" Kagome asked, immediately sounding like a worried mother hen.

Koga had to hide the smirk ticking at his mouth.

"They're fine," he interrupted before the taijiya could speak. "They've been through worse. And, apparently, need more training."

Kagome looked like she was tempted to argue but just shrugged with a slight smile.

"They'll pick themselves up when they're hungry," Koga added, without worry. Or, when they woke up.

As if suddenly awakened by his words, the female, Sango, immediately came fully alert and straightened her spine.

"I just remembered," she announced. "Master Mushin wished to extend his hospitality to you and your men. Rooms can be prepared for you, unless you wish to remain outside."

Koga admitted a roof was tempting. However, the warm breeze killed any thought of remaining indoors.

An ookami belonged out under the stars on nights like this. Not shut inside on a soft pallet. That softened a warrior and Koga and his men had to remain ready for battle at any time.

"We'll keep guard outside," he answered with a slight shake of his head. "But, we will take the offer of hospitality."

"Koga, you don't have to stay outside," Kagome soothed with a frown. "Nothing can get through the barrier."

"We did," Koga argued with a shrug. Though he was pleased to have his woman's focus, once again.

"Nothing that can harm us," Kagome quickly corrected. "Only allies have been able to pass through. You, Shipo, Kirara…."

She then suddenly turned her head to focus back to the taijiya.

"Where is Kirara?" Kagome asked. "We hadn't heard from her in weeks and worried something had happened to you. But, I don't see her with you either."

That got Koga's attention, as well.

He hadn't had many direct interactions with the taijiya but, the few times they did, the giant nekomata had always been with her. In the time Koga had Sango with him, he'd never seen hide nor fang of the huge feline.

Count on his woman to bring it to his attention.

Sango shifted from foot to foot, unease dripping off her in droves. It was obvious she didn't know whether to speak or not. However, the hesitation only caused Koga's instincts to go on high alert.

If she thought to betray him, now….

"It's okay, Sango," Kagome soothed as she opened her other palm to reveal the troublesome jewel in her hand. "Koga knows…..enough. You can talk in front of him, if you need to."

The reassurance seemed to do the trick because the taijiya immediately relaxed.

"I sent her off on an errand," Sango replied with a rueful smile. "It may be nothing but, I had to have her check something for me."

"Is it something I should know about?" Koga asked, eyes narrowing in deep suspicion.

Sango just returned the glare. "I doubt it," she answered. "It's no threat to your tribe."

Koga was ready to snarl in return but Kagome was apparently eager to continue.

"But, she's alright, right?" Kagome quickly interrupted. "She's not in any danger."

Sango just shook her head with a sigh. "Not that I know of," she replied. "But, there is something you should know."

The taijiya once again looked towards Koga, working her jaw from side to side in great effort.

"I'm sorry," she forced out. "I'm not used to….. Anyway, I'll explain everything but, can we go inside, first? I'd rather tell this just once, if you don't mind."

Koga nodded in agreement, deciding to go by Kagome's calm over the situation. If she wasn't worried, he wouldn't be either. But, that didn't mean he wouldn't be prepared. The taijiya had tricked him before. He wouldn't fall for it again.

SSS

Kagome knew something was wrong.

She wasn't sure if it what but Sango was plainly bothered by it. The way she repeatedly fidgeted in her place on the smooth floor of the room and her eyes would zip back and forth towards Koga, there was no hiding her problem was with the ookami Alpha.

Unfortunately, Kagome didn't think they had the time to waste on this. The Jewel wasn't hidden from the world anymore and Naraku would only be delayed so long to heal.

"Sango?" Kagome asked, snapping her friend to look her in the eye.

With a sigh, the young taijiya nodded as if to convince herself more than anything.

"After you disappeared, I went to search for Naraku," she informed like a soldier going to war.

Kagome nodded in response. "I remember you telling me," she replied. "That you planned to hunt him down."

"I didn't get very far, at first," Sango answered. "Mostly sent in useless circles."

"I'm sorry for that," Kagome soothed, eyes softening in pained comfort. "I know how much you wanted to avenge your people."

Sango nodded. "I didn't know what to do. I mostly just kept remembering that night. Kept….seeing it, seeing him over and over again, as he destroyed everything. But, then something occurred to me. I remembered something about that night. Something he said.
'He said that Kikyo's folly had followed her."

Kagome forced her throat to swallow the lump lodged in it as she stared in petrifying shock. Naraku had said what? How was that even possible?

"Kikyo?" Koga asked in scoffing confusion. "Who the hell is Kikyo?"

"Exactly what I was thinking," Sango replied without breaking stride. "None of the girls or women in the village were named Kikyo and I didn't know anyone outside of the village by that name. But, for some reason, it stuck with me. I knew it had special significance but had no idea how Naraku could have any connection to it.
'Then, I remembered a story my father used to tell me and….my brother as children. A story of how his father had gone to a village and given something to a powerful priestess named—"

"Kikyo."

Both Koga's and Sango's eyes were glued to Kagome with an alert intensity. However, Kagome barely noticed. All she could feel was a numbing cold creeping up her fingers, causing her to lose all warmth in her hands as she clutched the Jewel tighter between them.

Dread, thick and cloying, gripped her as the young priestess struggled to breathe. Naraku had been tracking her for years for the Jewel but…. Could his obsession go deeper?

"Yes," Sango replied, swallowing low. "I remembered that priestess was the first to be given the duty of guarding the Shikon Jewel. That she was greatly powerful and was able to protect it for years against yokai."

"So, you went to the village," Kagome informed, a part of her wishing she was wrong.

But, Sango nodded in agreement. "I remembered you told me where you had come from and….. it all added up."

Kagome swallowed the lump of heartbreak in her throat as she forced herself not to cry. She hadn't seen her home in years. Too many years.

Questions raced through her mind. Was her mother alright? How much had her brother, Souta, grown? Was her grand-father still alive?

Kagome fought the surge of pained jealousy that shot through her. She had dreamed of seeing her home again for so long and, Sango had gone without her knowledge. Still, if it helped them….

"What are you two talking about?" Koga asked, brow furrowing in worried confusion.

Kagome smiled warmly when she felt his calloused palm enfold her own, as if to comfort her in her unhappiness. It was a sweetness she always wanted to appreciate.

"Sango means, she went back to the village that I came from," Kagome informed, pinning the smile she hoped looked convincing on her face. "The priestess Kikyo lived there….long ago."

Sango nodded. "The current priestess, Kaede, was the younger sister to Kikyo and I sought her out to see if there was anything she could tell me about Naraku."

"Not much, I'm afraid," Kagome replied. "No-one in my village had even heard of him before he threatened to destroy the village if I didn't surrender the Jewel to him."

"He what?" Koga snarled, tightening his grip on Kagome's hand.

Kagome patted his in soothing comfort.

"You're right," Sango agreed. "But, she did tell me something I think you would be interested in. You know the story of how Kikyo died, correct?"

"Of course," Kagome replied.

It had been a fundamental part of her training. A way to prepare her for whatever was necessary to protect the Jewel.

"Kaede told me that, around that time, Kikyo had found a bandit named Onigumo, badly injured and near death," Sango continued. "She said me he was as good as hell-bound for all the evil he had done but Kikyo insisted that it was her duty to ease his suffering. After she died, Kaede said she went to where Onigumo had been kept. But, he was gone."

Kagome blinked as she tried to gather Sango's meaning. The encounter seemed inconsequential enough. Even she would probably have done the same for the poor soul.

"I'm afraid I'm not following, Sango," Kagome replied. "What does this have to do with Naraku?"

"I was confused, at first, too," Sango informed. "But, Kaede offered to show me where the bandit had been laid. I saw no reason not to look. And, when we got there, I felt the distinct taint of yokai."

"Yokai?"

"Yes," Sango answered. "It was faint and old but it was there. And, the aura was pure evil. I….I don't think the bandit just disappeared."

"Sango, what are you saying?" Kagome asked. "You think Naraku killed Onigumo all those years ago?"

"I think Naraku was Onigumo all those years ago," Sango informed.

SSS

Shipo had no idea what the others were speaking about. He was too busy perching himself up on the steep slope of the temple's roof, gazing up the the stars that finally broke through the winter clouds.

The sweetened air and clear sky brought a smile to the little kit's face.

He was grateful to the thick-headed Alpha for giving him a place for the winter. The ookami were savage but they were honest about their word, at least. However, it was comforts like these Shipo missed the most in those dens.

Nights like this were a treasure. Soft, quiet, indulgent.

His father used to take him out and show him the many wonders sparkling down from the heavens in the night sky.

Myoken riding his eagle shone in all of its wonderous brilliance, standing firmly in its place.

Kida, with his seven stars on his back.

The Nine Luminaries, with the Seven Celestial Bodies encircling it all.

Shipo saw it all. He saw and he remembered. He remembered his father's smooth steady voice showing him the secrets of the heavens. He remembered his way his father would wrap his thick tail about Shipo's little body when he'd start to shiver with the last of winter's cold. He remembered the way they'd stay out late into the night listening to the stories of his father's adventures till Shipo would eventually drop off to sleep, surrounded by the comfort of his father's fur.

Shipo wondered what his father would think of him, now. He'd spent the winter with wolves and was now waiting on the roof of a human temple, wondering what changes the morrow would bring.

He didn't have to stay. Shipo knew this. Koga had told him once the snows melted, he was free to go wherever he pleased. But, there was something pulling Shipo to stay.

He couldn't explain it. It certainly made no sense to him. But, something small was telling him to remain close to the Alpha and the humans he was collecting around him.

Shipo chalked it up to curiosity. Nothing else explained it. He just hoped he wasn't making a mistake.

Then again, his father was always quick to say life had a way of surprising you. Perhaps he would be proud of his son, for all the adventure he'd had in his young life. Shipo certainly hoped so. Whenever he passed into the next world, he wanted to have great stories to tell his father.

It was what made them all worth-while.