Chapter 16: Dog Fight

Kagome was, to say the least, a little astounded by the way Sesshoumaru was changing. In the past few days since he had resurrected her, he had stayed very close to her at all times. He told her he had destroyed Toukijin that night, and now wore the Tetsusaiga at all times, seemingly without reservation. He remained as non-talkative as usual, but Kagome was not bothered by his silence. He was not in the habit of speaking much, she understood. Besides, she was becoming much better at interpreting his eyes and body language. He would revert to his icy self often, looking off into the distance and frowning. Kagome wondered what he thought about at times like this, but his glare would soften with a glance at Rin or herself or a gentle touch from her. Like now. Kagome caught his preoccupied air in a sidelong glance at the demon lord. She snaked her arm up to rest on his shoulder, giving him a little smile as he turned to her. "What are you thinking about?"

He had been thinking about Naraku, about her, about the state of his lands, his brother, the million little circumstances that had led him here and continued to steer him down an increasingly dangerous path. Every day Naraku lived his father's land fell into further disarray. The other demons were restless and violent. He had little time to spare of late for any defenses against those other than Naraku, and in addition he was now traveling with two humans. Destroying Naraku would only be half the battle, he thought as he looked down at the miko's concerned face.

He lifted Kagome's hand gently and kissed her palm before he dropped it. "Nothing." Things were so much more complicated now that he had so much to lose.

Kagome was a little disappointed he would not confide in her, even if she wasn't surprised. She had decided simply to follow fate's promptings in this matter. Sesshoumaru seemed to be serious about his feelings for her, so for the moment she was content to simply return his affection, trying not to think to hard about it. She wanted to stay near him as much as he wanted her there, though she had never said it out loud.

The day was warm and reaching its apex. Sesshoumaru had been leading them steadily northward, waiting for some sign of the jewel shards or of Naraku. It was tiresome, Kagome wondered if it would ever end, it had been weeks since she had been home, longer than ever before. They were probably worried sick by now. School and her friends there seemed so distant, as if it had been years since she had been there. She probably couldn't catch up now, even if she ever got the chance.

Sesshoumaru felt Kagome stiffen and stop beside him and turned to her.

"Shikon shards!" she said in response to his silent question. "They're coming fa-"

She was interrupted by a brown blur sweeping in front of her, tossing up dust and sending a gust of wind at her. She blinked, and by the time her eyes had opened, Kouga was standing in front of her with one hand on her hip, pushing her protectively behind him. Kagome raised her eyes to find a very angry Sesshoumaru tensing his claws and growling lowly, poised to strike.

"Move away from her." Sesshoumaru looked as if he was barely restraining himself, only holding back for fear of Kagome getting hurt. He shouldn't have allowed the wolf to reach her, but he traveled faster than his scent did. Now, not only was this wolf jeopardizing her, but he was casually holding her back, putting his hand on her hip as if it had the right to be there.

"No fucking way! Kagome is my woman, I've come to take her back! And if you've hurt her, I'll kill you!" Kouga pulled her tightly against his back, glaring and snarling at Sesshoumaru.

Kagome was pulling against his grasp, hissing at him fearfully. "Kouga…"

Kouga, naturally, completely misinterpreted her apprehension and missed the warning in her voice. "Don't worry, Kagome, I'll protect you." He found her hand and squeezed it in an attempt to reassure her.

"That's not what I…"

Sesshoumaru watched angrily as Kagome struggled to pull herself out of the wolf's grasp. When he intimately squeezed her hand, he decided he had seen enough. He sprung forward, bringing his claws down in a carefully measured arch, hoping to split the insolent wolf in half.

Kagome didn't even see Sesshoumaru as he moved. One moment Kouga was standing closely in front of her, the next she was standing in front of a crater, getting hit with a few pieces of debris. As the dust began to clear, she became aware of Sesshoumaru's tall white figure standing in front of her. Kouga had managed to spring away and was crouched opposite him, fangs bared.

"Sesshoumaru!" she called as he began to stalk towards the wolf, drawing Tetsusaiga.

He tossed a firm glare over his shoulder at her. "Stay back," he ordered. Kagome hesitated, reaching out towards his back. The look in his eyes was dangerous. This would not end well.

Kouga managed to survive the demon lord's withering glare and returned it with his own version. "I don't know who you think you are, but no one touches my woman! Especially not Inu-koro's stupid brother!"

Sesshoumaru, unlike Inuyasha, refrained from entering into a verbal spar and narrowed his eyes as the fang transformed in his hand.

Simultaneously, both sprang forward as Kagome desperately yelled to get their attention. Neither made any sign of having heard her.

The collided powerfully in the air, but Kagome was unable to discern from the noise who had struck what. The two demons were both moving to quickly for her to catch the details of the fight. Rin was huddled behind her, holding onto her leg while Jaken was shouting jeers at Kouga. Not much help there.

"Sesshoumaru, stop!" she yelled again, but her shout was lost in the sound of more earth exploding. This had been so much easier when she could subdue one of them. At this rate, one of them was going to kill the other. Kouga didn't stand a chance.

Momentarily the combatants broke apart, regarding each other warily. Kouga was breathing heavily and covered in scratches. Sesshoumaru had a hard look in his eye. One scrape on his sword arm was all the damage the wolf had managed to inflict.

"Let Kagome go peacefully, or I swear I'll kill you," Kouga said in pants, clutching a free-bleeding wound on his shoulder.

"She stays with me."

Kagome pushed Rin off of her hastily. She had to stop this, no matter the risk.

Kouga roared and charged in again before Kagome could get in a word. They blurred again for a moment, re-materializing as Kouga was tossed painfully into a tree, shattering it to splinters. He staggered back to his feet, looking up at the demon lord with desperation. He caught the movement of something blue off to the side-- Kagome sprinting toward them. At the very least, he had to protect her and try to get her clear from this battle. Without further hesitation, he streaked towards her.

When Sesshoumaru saw the wolf's motion, his thoughts stopped. The wolf had touched Kagome and put her in danger. Now he was moving for her again. He had to die. Without further reservation, he swung Tetsusaiga with all the force he dared.

Kagome watched as everything seemed to move in slow-motion. Kouga was running determinately towards her while Sesshoumaru slashed with the fang, sending out blazing arches of energy. He had held back the full Kaze no Kizu, probably only because she was so close. The energy collided with the wolf, slicing him and tossing him backward until he came to a dusty halt meters away. Sesshoumaru lunged forward, bringing the blade down, this time to bisect him for certainty.

"No!" Kagome shouted, throwing herself in front of Kouga. She gasped as the sword's edge stopped centimeters above her face. She half-kneeled, poised in front of Kouga's struggling form with her face uplifted to meet Sesshoumaru's eyes.

"I told you to stay back," Sesshoumaru said angrily. He desperately wanted to tear the other youkai apart. He wasn't sure if it was because of his claim or his actions, but he wanted blood.

"Please, don't kill him," Kagome pleaded. The look on Sesshoumaru's face indicated he was in no mood to compromise.

"He tried to take you," he growled.

"He was trying to protect me!" Kagome's patience was wearing thin now, her fear fading as her annoyance grew.

Sesshoumaru remained still, the blade still lingering over the wolf and the miko. Why was she protecting him? "Move."

"No! He wasn't here to hurt me, and he doesn't deserve to die!" Kagome yelled defiantly at him.

Kouga, badly wounded, had managed to sit up. He was very worried to see the dog demon standing over his woman with what had formerly been Inuyasha's sword. The monk and the taijiya had been right, this guy was in a completely different league. Now, she was begging for his life, and the other demon didn't look very pleased. Shit, he was going to get her killed. He reached up and grabbed her around the waist, once again trying to pull her behind him.

Sesshoumaru's blood boiled when he touched her. He started a growl, but Kagome beat him to it. "Jerk!" she yelled as she hastily stood thrust Kouga's arms away from her. "I'm trying to save your life, and you're only making things worse!" She remained between them, an intimidating look on her face that warned them both from making any sudden movements. "Sesshoumaru, sheath your sword."

Sesshoumaru stood, torn between listening to her and ripping apart the stupid wolf in front of him.

"Sesshoumaru, please." Kagome's voice was a little softer now.

Sesshoumaru, glaring daggers of his own, slowly brought his blade down, never moving his eyes from Kouga.

Kouga looked up at her nervously from the ground. "Kagome, I came to-"

Kagome's head snapped toward him. "Shut up." She turned to Sesshoumaru. "You," she said, "cannot kill him. He has been my friend and protected me for months."

"And you," she said to Kouga, "do not have any rights to me. Nor should you attack my escort. And for the last time, I am not your woman!!" Angrily she stalked away from them and started pacing back and forth ranting about stubborn males. The two demons regarded her incredulously, neither moving since she had begun her tirade.

Finally she sighed in resignation and huffed over to them again. "I suppose we should do something about those wounds," she said to Kouga. Sesshoumaru stepped in front of her as she approached the downed youkai.

Kagome looked up at him, still frustrated. "Could you move please?"

He glared down at her. "No."

"Look, I'm not just going to let you leave him bleeding on the ground! He is my friend after all!"

"He's not touching you, and you're not touching him," he said with conviction.

Kagome put her hands on her hips. "Hey! It's not my fault you two decided to try and kill each other! Let me through or I'll..."

"Or what?" Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes.

Kagome reigned in her anger. "Sesshoumaru, please." He felt his temper flare with every attempt she made to get to the wolf. She leaned in a little and rested her hands on his chest in an appeasing manor. "Sesshoumaru," she whispered under her breath. "Rin is watching. Please."

She watched his eyes travel across the trail to the little girl who had attached herself to the dragon in Kagome's absence. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. He didn't like to shed blood in front of her; he usually tried to keep her away from these terrors as much as possible.

It infuriated him that Kagome was pleading for the stupid wolf, but now was not the time to deal with it. Wordlessly, he stalked out of her way, stopping a short distance away to keep an eye on them.

Kagome knelt down beside Kouga, pulling out the rags of what had formerly been her clothing. "That was close," she breathed as she began to dab at Kouga's blood.

Kouga's eyes flashed from Kagome to the demon lord, who was sending him murderous glances. "Kagome, are you all right? He hasn't hurt you, has he?"

Kagome looked up from her work for a moment. "If you mean Sesshoumaru, no, he hasn't." She held up a piece of cloth, and, taking the hint, he sliced it down the middle with his claw.

"Your friends told me about Inuyasha."

She avoided his eyes. Inuyasha was still a painful subject, but at least her friends seemed to be alright.

"I'm sorry for you Kagome, but maybe it was supposed to be this way." He caught her hands from where they were busily wrapping shreds of material around his wounds. "You belong with me. I'll protect you so that nothing will hurt you again." If the wolf had been looking at Sesshoumaru, he probably would have been melted by the look in his eyes. Instead, he was looking intently at his woman, who refused to raise her head.

Kagome pulled her hands away from his and knotted a bandage on his arm, over-tightening it a little. "I'm grateful that you've come this far to protect me Kouga," she explained. "But I'm fine, and I'm well protected here. Nothing has changed. I still can't be your woman."

Kouga's face fell for a moment, but then he smiled again. "I understand," he said affectionately. "You still need some time to get over Inuyasha." Kagome was greatly tempted to try and knock some sense into his head. If Sesshoumaru hadn't already torn him up, she would have done it.

"Don't worry," he said, stroking her cheek fondly. "I'll come back for you when you're ready to be with me."

Thankfully, at that moment the howls of wolves were heard in the hills behind them. Otherwise, Kouga would likely have found himself impaled on Sesshoumaru's poisonous claws. "My tribe," he explained. "They've almost caught up to me."

Kagome helped support him as he rose to his feet. "Can you make it?"

He eased out of her assistance and nodded. "Will you be alright here?" he asked lowly, glancing at Sesshoumaru.

She nodded firmly. "I'll be fine." Adding in her mind: 'depending on how angry Sesshoumaru is.'

Kouga smiled at her. "Someday soon Naraku will be destroyed and we'll be together for good. No more leaving you in another man's hands."

She bit her lip. "Be careful, he will have to come after your shards soon."

Kouga gave a little scoff. "I have heard rumors that the coward has fled south again. No doubt left a clear trail of blood and destruction again. Don't worry, I'll track him."

A pack of wolves tore into the clearing, gathering around their master. He melted into the forest with them, tossing a look back at Kagome. "Stay safe!"

The wolf youkai gone, Kagome turned and nearly ran into Sesshoumaru. She looked timidly up into his impassive face, belying his raging golden eyes.

"Rin," he commanded without moving his eyes off of her, "go find flowers. Jaken, go with her."

Kagome felt trapped by his ferocious gaze. This couldn't be good.

Author's Notes:

Ok, last time I say this. Not writing a lemon. Nothing against them, I just can't write them.

I made some minor changes to the previous chapter (thank you wickedwolf), but there aren't any plot changes or anything.

Thanks for all the glowing reviews. I promise more mushy stuff to come (broken with episodes of angst of course), but things will eventually work out.

Tidus: Thank you, my day isn't complete until I've had at least one death threat *grins*

Keep giving me feedback! It makes this story so much better!

Please Review

-Aiwen



This chapter last updated: Thursday, May 15, 2003