South.
She'd never been this far South, before. It was definitately warmer, and the land looked different. She'd just passed the largest expanse of grassland she'd ever seen, wondering what kind of animals must live there to be able to survive something as common as a storm. And up ahead was a smaller mountain range, lighter in color and rounder in steeps.
A different life called for a different setting, she decided. A new place, with no ties to before. Kagura was free. She could live how she wanted to live, be what she wanted to be, hate whom she wanted to hate… It was euphoric. Intoxicating. Beyond exciting…
Or at least it should have been.
What's missing?
The question lodged in her brain like a blaring canker. It had been nagging her the moment she dumped the wolf prince off at the base of his mountain - half a day ago. She narrowed her eyes at some random spot on the passing ground below, going down a mental checklist.
She'd obtained her revenge against Naraku. Her powers were in tact. She'd even left the final battle, unscathed. It had gone as well as possible. So exactly what the hell was this unease? This emptiness nagging at the edges of her soul like a long buried…something?
It made her cringe, that was for damn sure. Especially when it jolted her with random 'moments' of her short life. Like the reds and blacks of Goshinki's mindless rampage through the human villages. Or the deep, haunted eyes of little Kohaku as Naraku strung him about like some macabre puppeteer. And then, there was the wide-eyed, despairing horror on Kouga's moreno face when he saw what she'd done to his men…
Ugh… She hissed softly against the wind, squinting away the most recent rush of memories. Why was she feeling such discomfort over assignments she had no control over? Hell. She'd even delighted in slaying the army of youroukozu, trying out her powers for the first time.
But now… She considered the properties of regret. Guilt. And a number of those elusive sentiments that she knew existed but was never taught to feel. Blast it. This inability to read herself was a side effect, no doubt, of being born with all the knowledge one could ask for, but without the memories of having ever attained it. A gift. A curse. She couldn't decide.
Damn you, Naraku. Even now, I'm in your accursed shadow...
In response to her unspoken rant, the recollection of his deep, rhythmic chuckle echoed in her ears, and she dug her fingers into the webbing of her airborn feather. To further disorientate her sense of self, a sudden, uninvited visual of the wolf prince's visage popped up in her mind - fine brows knotted in the middle, dusty eyelashes feathering against his smudged cheeks, feverish lips stretched down in a grimace of pain… She had it memorized. Against her better judgment, she'd found herself staring at it while he was unconscious on the way back to his mountain - all the while, trying to convince herself that she was helping him out of spite for her dead master.
She'd even believed it for a moment, there, too. That the karmic 'HA!' of her betrayal, Naraku's death, and her long-awaited freedom hadn't been enough. And that she'd gone out of her way to not only spare that mangy wolf during battle, but bring his wounded body safely home as well. Just to spit on her maker's memory.
Yeah, right, she sighed internally, reluctantly admitting there had to be more to it. Exactly what, she wasn't sure, and wasn't about to analyze why. The Kagura under Naraku's command would have killed him without a second thought. But she wasn't under Naraku's command anymore…
Who am I?
The question burned at the forefront of her mind like a dragon's flame. It may have driven her crazy, but in that precise moment, a scream sounded from below. Startled, Kagura looked down, and found herself wondering how the hell it was that she hadn't noticed the commotion earlier. It was sheer pandemonium. Humans falling by the wayside, scurrying about like insects on the blitz, hunted by weasel demons... She watched the scene with her usual detached intrigue…
Or tried to...
It was gradual, but her blood started to crescendo in her ears, and her hands began to tremble. As though on a will of its own, her feather descended slowly, and her weapon made its way into her white-knuckled grip. Suddenly it became quite clear to her that there was at least one thing about the liberated Kagura that was different from the enslaved one.
Apparently the liberated Kagura didn't like bloodshed.
Especially when it involved little children.
* * *
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Kouga squared his shoulders, and straightened his spine. His hands twitched to knock down the nearest kitsune, but he held them diplomatically at his sides. Intimidation had always worked in the past, and now that the wolf prince was without reinforcements, he had to make sure it worked now.
Through condescending eyes, he stared the fox clans down. It wasn't the first insurrection, but the first that truly worried him. There had to be three or four tribes, complete with females, elderly, children… All gathered, now that rumors of his slaughtered men had finally reached the valley. And they'd come to take their lands back.
Their leader stepped out, a burly, thick youkai with bushy red hair.
"You know why we're here, Kouga," he said, motioning his arm in a broad sweeping gesture at the east side of the mountain.
Kouga donned a smirk. He was alone. Deliberately. First off, if this came to blows, he wasn't about to lose any more of his people, and secondly, his projection of amused arrogance unnerved the enemy, as though he had something up his sleeve.
And now was the moment. He'd decided weeks ago that if something like this happened, he'd have to make a concession. The wolf tribes, quite simply, were no longer equipped to bully the other youkai off this great mountain. There weren't enough of them.
Kouga folded his arms and sneered down at their leader, trying to radiate his usual cockiness. "Yes. I know why you're here, kitsune. You want your lands back."
"And we're prepared to take it by force-"
His words were interrupted by Kouga's deep, rumbling chuckle. Nervous and alert, the leader shifted weight uneasily from one leg to the other.
"Well, you're in luck," Kouga said, satisfied at the shocked look on the kitsunen faces. He had them in the palm of his hand. "We've grown…weary…" he drawled out the word, letting them make of it what they would, "of maintaining the lower east side." He smiled sardonically, making a mental note of the paranoid whispers rumbling through the crowds.
"What's happened to our land? Why is he just giving it to us? Why doesn't he want it anymore??"
Truth was, nothing was wrong with it, and it pained him more than a little to just give it away. Securing these lands was how he and his gang came to power to begin with. But his gang was dead. And for the few that remained, he had to avoid war at all costs.
"Just stay out of the upper territory, if you know what's good for you."
"We've come to claim all our old lands back. You know damn well that the upper territory-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence. It was a strategic moment for confrontation, and Kouga materialized in front of their leader, and clamped his claw around his neck, elevating the choking kitsune in the air.
Gasps, and cries of alarm sounded all around him, as the males readied their weapons. Kouga's smile never left his face, pointedly baring his sharp teeth. The kitsune struggled, his face reddening, his eyes bulging. The wolf prince let his nails pierce the skin of the leader's throat, silently warning the others to keep their distance.
Locking stares, he grated out menacingly, "The lower east side, kitsune. No higher, or the blood of you and yours will fertilize our grounds," Kouga flicked a deliberate glance at one of the children clinging to his mother's leg, and curled his other hand into a nasty claw, extending the nails. Those around him flinched at the noise. "Unless that's what you want..."
Three very tense seconds passed, and even in the chokehold, the kitsune leader managed to look defiant. Kouga held his confident air, but internally held his breath. Finally, the leader relented. A subtle nod, and that was all.
He dropped the fox demon, watching him crumple to the ground. Then Kouga folded his arms haughtily as the leader stood shakily to his feet, nursing his wounded neck with a massaging hand. "Glad we could come to an understanding," Kouga affirmed.
The leader's lip twitched, still trying to regain composure from the attack. "You just stay the hell away from us, Kouga. You and your pack."
"Respect our territory, and our paths will never cross."
Hesitance. Nod. And Kouga laughed enigmatically. It was all a front, and they'd bought it. With a mocking wave, he turned and left.
Only to scowl once he was out of range. The branches whipped at his face, and the brambles tore at his skin, but he was barely aware of them as he raced back to his clan.
This one concession might be the first of many in an effort to protect his people. They'd lose all their land eventually if he didn't start planning now for the future. When he'd recovered from Naraku's battle, Kouga quickly realized that the carefree days of being a pack leader were over. Circumstance had forced him into a heavier role, one he embraced with morbid acceptance. After all, his father had been a youkai lord. And it was time for Kouga to step up and assume the greater responsibilities.
So he'd placed his focus on his people, having spent the last three months gathering what was left of the other tribes and centralizing them near the top. Granted, they were mainly women and children. The wolf youkai from the Southern and Eastern clans had been maddened by Naraku's evil presence, literally slaying each other into damn near extinction.
And then the North guys, and most of his Western tribe had been butchered by that Kagura…
This is all your fault, Wind User, he repeated for the hundredth time, the rage coursing through his veins anew. I'll get you for this! His lands were almost secure. And when they were, he could finally go hunting for the element demon, and avenge his people. It was the first thing on his 'to do' list.
Well, almost the first thing.
Kagome… He needed her. Now. Kouga knew the tribe needed to replenish itself as soon as possible. But in order to do that, certain…practices...needed to be put into place.
He cringed. Polygamy wasn't something he advocated, but for all the enemies his people had, the wolf tribe might very well die out if he didn't implement it soon…
And it didn't help that the pressure from the clan was tremendous. Hakkaku and Ginta were talking about it constantly, trying to coerce him into declaring it. And then all those impatient females…growing bolder by the day, trying to get him into bed…
There were only two dozen men left, with nearly 300 females. Taking several mates was arguably his responsibility. He didn't deny it. But the gang leader hadn't come this far by being stupid. He was well aware of the politics behind polygamy, and the jealousy and backstabbing that would ensue. Youroukozu were territorial on every level, and competition would be especially fierce for the prince's wives. It was tedious enough ruling over a people without having to worry about all the petty nonsense that plural marriages would toss into his already-complicated life. And the responsibility of the children! How could he raise them well and without bias if there were so many? Besides, his parents had been monogamous. His heart was monogamous. Kagome was monogamous…
And marrying her was the only way he might be able to exclude himself from the act of plural marriage, while enforcing it on the rest. The thought of her temperament made him smile. There was no way she'd share her man. And after what he'd seen of her miko powers from that last battle, the tribe just might fear her enough to respect that.
It would save him the hassle of declining the multiple pairings for himself, and the threat of being called traitor when he was anything but. And without all the other distractions, he could finally do away with that damn hanyou.
It's settled then, he decided as he approached the nearest lookout, waving at his spiky-haired comrade. "Ginta! Tell the others that the kitsune clans will only inhabit the lower eastern lands. They won't venture further up. I've made sure of it."
Ginta nodded absently, his brows raised curiously. "But Kouga, where are you going?"
"To collect Kagome and bring her back here."
Ginta's eyes widened, and he nearly dropped his staff. "I thought…with all the unwed females here that you'd…you'd…"
"And betray my woman? Keh! Do I look like that kind of fool?"
Ginta stammered inarticulately, and before he could get another word out, Kouga turned on his heel and waved. "I'll be back in a couple days!" As he left his stupefied buddy behind, the wolf prince deliberately ignored his sixth sense. The inherent ability that had protected him on so many occasions with whisperings of danger, had irritatingly taken to second-guessing his decision to make Kagome his wife.
Even now it had the audacity to suggest that things would backfire with Kagome. That somehow, he would be hurt.
But Kouga's natural stubbornness was augmented by his desperation. After just moments, his sixth sense got tired and gave up.
The fool prince would make his mistakes.
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