A/N: Chapter 4!!! Some action coming up!!! This is an R rated fic due to Inu Yasha's language and Miroku's thoughts. You have been warned. Enjoy and please review! It encourages me to write the next chapter!
Disclaimer: The Inu tachi is owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
Recap:
As they landed once again on the ground, Miroku turned to the taijiya, "This is the fifth time since we left the village Inu Yasha has stopped." He watched as the half demon sniffed the air, his canine ears twitching atop his head.
"Maybe he lost the scent." Shippou chimed in as he too sniffed into the wind. "Hey, I smell blood. Inu Yasha, do you smell it?"
"Of course I smell it, whelp! I've been smelling it!" He snapped at the kitsune, his amber eyes glaring in annoyance.
"What is it?" Kagome leaned over his shoulder to see into his face.
Avoiding eye contact with her and Sango he ground out, "Another village."
Kagome's eyes grew round. "Inu Yasha, I sense a Shikon no kakera. No! Two of them, and they're coming right at us!"
Eyes of the DeadInu Yasha let out a deep-throated growl, "Kouga!" He snarled, his youkai senses picking up the familiar scent of the wolf demon.
Within seconds a whirlwind scattering dust and brush came into view. Stopping just in front of the inu hanyou, "Oi! Inu-kuro! What are you doing with my woman?"
"Kouga-kun!" Kagome exclaimed as she jumped from Inu Yasha's back to greet her friend.
"Stay back, Kagome." Inu Yasha drew his sword, his eyes never leaving Kouga. "What are you doing here, wimpy wolf?"
"I sensed my woman and came to see her, mutt! Kagome, how are you?" He jumped high over the hanyou and grabbed Kagome's hands in his.
"You bastard! Get your fucking hands off her!" Inu Yasha whipped around to face his enemy.
"Stop it, Inu Yasha!" The miko yelled, her already red face deepening its color.
"Kagome, are you feeling well? Your face is red and your hands are too warm." Kouga peered closely into her face. She turned away, flushing even more.
"It's just a sunburn. I'm fine." She pulled her hands from his grasp quickly as Inu Yasha came to stand beside her, snaking an arm tightly about her slender waist.
"I still don't understand why you put up with this dog turd, Kagome." He smirked at Inu Yasha's fuming face.
"Why you!" Inu Yasha released his hold on Kagome as he leaped at the wolf youkai, his sword swinging.
With incredible speed Kouga jumped back, the sword missing him by a great distance. "Is that the best you can do, hanyou?" He chuckled.
"Stop fighting!" Kagome yelled again. Stepping between the two, she placed a placating hand on the sleeve of Inu Yasha's haori. "Don't make me say "it", Inu Yasha!" She looked sternly at him.
Inu Yasha's ears flattened to his skull. "Fine, wench, but don't come crying to me when that wimpy wolf kidnaps you again!"
"He's not going to kidnap me." She rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you here, Kouga-kun?" Kagome asked.
"I smelled human blood so came to make sure my woman was safe."
"Stop calling her that! She's not your woman!" The hanyou's eyes flashed anger as he growled deep in his throat, his grip tightening on the Tetsusaiga.
Miroku stepped forward, "Have you been to the village, then, Kouga?"
His attention was momentarily distracted by the hoshi's question. "Aa. Everyone was dead." He suddenly jumped to one side as Inu Yasha's fist came flying at him.
"Osuwari!" Kagome's voice cut through the air.
Instantly Inu Yasha slammed into the ground his face meeting the dirt with an audible grunt. "What the fuck did you do that for, bitch?" He tried to pull himself up only to slam down once again as Kagome yelled another "osuwari" at him. Kouga's laughter filled his ears.
"Inu Yasha, perhaps we should continue to the village. If this is the same youkai from last night, then more villages are in danger." Miroku spoke up, already annoyed with the all too familiar scenario before him.
"I'm sorry, Kouga-kun, but we really do have to go." She strode over to Kirara and climbed onto the fire cat's back. She was in no mood to deal with the angry dog demon.
"I'll go with you, Kagome." Glancing at the now standing hanyou. "Someone has to protect my woman from danger."
"Shut up!" Inu Yasha snapped. 'Why the hell does he have to tag along? Bastard, if he touches my Kagome…huh? Where did that come from? Feh, whatever!' His mind warred with itself. "Let's go."
Shippou curled up in Kagome's lap as Sango and Miroku once again sat on Kirara's back. The demon cat leaped into the sky.
"It's good that Kouga-kun showed up. We don't know what this youkai is and it has already destroyed two villages that we know of." The miko said as she watched the two streaks of color racing below through the forest.
"Kagome-chan?" Sango spoke up, "Do you think it wise to let Kouga this close to you?" She glanced back at her friend sitting behind her.
"Huh?" Kagome looked at Sango confused.
"Inu Yasha has been more protective of you lately. Haven't you noticed?" A knowing smile spread across the taijiya's face as she thought of how Inu Yasha had unabashedly held Kagome while she was ill.
"I have never seen him this attentive to you, Kagome-sama." Miroku broke into the girls' conversation.
"It was only because I was sick. Can't let anything happen to his shard detector." Kagome replied dejectedly. She lowered her head, hiding the sadness she felt.
"That's not true, Kagome-chan. Inu Yasha cares for you very much. Look how possessive he becomes whenever Kouga is around."
Kagome just snorted, "Like I said, he doesn't want anything to happen to his precious shard detector." Again she looked to the blurred figures on the ground below. 'But he has been nicer to me lately. No, he's rude, a jerk, inconsiderate…and I love him.' She sighed.
Kiarara landed as the village came into view.
"Just like the other village." Inu Yasha said as he once again took Kagome's hand, growling low as Kouga approached the girl.
"It will take the rest of the day to burry them." Miroku glanced at the scattered bodies of the villagers. Then smiled slyly at Kouga, "But it will go much faster now that Kouga is here to help."
"Nani?" Kouga stared wide-eyed at the hoshi.
"It is very honorable of you to offer your assistance." Smiling at Sango Miroku winked.
"Don't you think so, Kagome-chan?" Sango turned to her friend.
"Arigato, Kouga-kun!" She beamed at him ignoring the hanyou's low growls and Shippou's muffled snickers.
"I-I…" Looking into Kagome's expectant face, "If it will make you happy, Kagome."
"Hai!" The miko pulled her hand free from Inu Yasha's and followed Sango, Kiarara and Shippou to search for an empty hut. Her smile faded as she once again looked into the unseeing eyes of the dead villagers.
"What kind of demon could do this?" Shippou asked as he snuggled deeper into Kagome's embrace.
"A very evil one, Shippou." Sango replied, a haunted look shadowing her dark eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Miroku said prayers over the last of the graves, Inu Yasha ran off, following the smell of ramen wafting from one of the huts.
Sango handed him a bowl as he plopped down in front of the small fire. As he began stuffing the noodles into his mouth Miroku and Kouga entered.
"Arigato, Sango-sama." Miroku smiled at the taijiya as he accepted the offered food. He glanced over at Kouga who tried to sit next to Kagome only to have Shippou pounce to occupy the empty space beside her. Inu Yasha sat close at her other side, glaring every so often at the wolf pack leader.
He sat next to the hoshi taking the bowl of food Sango gave him, staring menacingly at the hanyou next to girl he considered his woman. "What kind of food is this?" He asked sniffing at the noodles in broth.
"Ramen. Kagome brought it from her country." Shippou offered through a mouthful of food.
"Shut up and eat it, wimpy wolf, unless you'd rather starve." Inu Yasha chuckled to himself.
"Dumbass!" Kouga retorted. "I know how to hunt! I don't have to depend on human food."
"Inu Yasha, be nice. You will both behave tonight, or I will take Kiarara and go home!" She smiled at the mumbled voices of the two men.
They finished their meal in silence. Outside the walls of the hut, the wind picked up and dark clouds covered the remnants of the moon. The door flap banged noisily against its frame as the wind blew through the desolate town.
"We need to secure the window and door hangings, Kagome-chan." Sango stood as she spoke.
"Hai." Kagome replied as she went to assist the taijiya.
"Something's not right." Inu Yasha muttered to the others as the women tied the leather straps to hold off the strong wind and threatening rain. "The youkai scent is strong again, like it's coming back."
"The wind is stronger now, Inu Yasha. Perhaps that could be the cause of it." Miroku rested his staff against his shoulder, his cursed hand gripping the sleek wood lightly.
Kouga shook his head, "No, Inu kuru is right. It's coming back this way."
"And we're gonna be ready for it." The hanyou looked at the women as they once again sat down by the fire.
Seeing the hardened glare on Inu Yasha and Kouga's faces, "What's up?"
"It would seem we are soon to face the youkai we have been following." Miroku's serious expression registered in the taijiya's mind.
Shippou dove into Kagome's arms, seeking the comfort of her embrace. He watched through frightened child eyes as Sango pulled her Hairikotsu across her lap, running her thumb across its sharpened edge. Inu Yasha rested one clawed hand restlessly on his sword as Kouga and Miroku sat alert to the approaching danger. "Do you think it has a Shikon no kakera?" He asked the girl holding him.
Kagome closed her eyes, her miko powers flowing out as she focused on the energy of the jewel. "No. I don't sense any except the two Kouga has."
"Then this is going to be easy." The confidant hanyou replied.
The group sat waiting, tense as they anticipated the coming battle. Suddenly Miroku looked up, "Youki. And it's coming fast."
"Let's go." Inu Yasha jumped up tearing the bamboo flap from the doorway as the others followed him into the raging night winds. The giant blade of the Tetsusaiga cast light into the dark night. As a strong odor filled the air, he turned to the miko, "Stay back, Kagome! Sango, Miroku watch her!"
They nodded in compliance as they stood in fighting stance on each side of their friend. Shippou sat on Kagome's shoulder, ready to do his part to protect his adopted mother. Kiarara snarled as she changed from a tiny cat into her giant youkai form.
As Inu Yasha and Kouga stood ready to face the beast, a blast of air swished past throwing Inu Yasha and Kouga to the ground. They sat stunned as the others looked on. "What the fuck was that?" Inu Yasha snarled as he pulled himself up, only to have a second whirl of wind rush past. His eyes grew wide as he lifted one clawed hand to his chest, staring in bewilderment at the blood soaking his haori and coating his fingers. A large rip across his overcoat and undershirt revealed a deep gash sliced across his chest, his crimson blood pooling to the ground.
A/N: Another cliffhanger! I really had trouble with this chapter, so it is not as good as it could have been. This new fic popped into my head and demanded I write it instead. So I did! If you want to check it out, I warn you, it's a citrus! Will try to keep both fics updated on a regular basis! Well, you know the routine, Please review! I really would like to know what you think of this fic and it encourages the next chapters!!!