Chapter 12: Too Much Gore
The stench of death was overwhelming to the group. Even the humans were nauseated by the smell. However, the carnage that lay before them was more brutal to the eye than to the nose.
Inuyasha and Kagome arrived moments after Kouga. The field of battle, or slaughter-ground more appropriately, was littered with limbs and other dismemberments of the wolf youkai. The dirt was soaked in blood and gore was scattered everywhere.
Kagome slowly slid off of Inuyasha and rushed towards Kouga who had fallen to his knees looking in utter despair at the nightmare that surrounded him. His eyes had turned red and he didn't seem to notice that Kagome was hugging him gently from behind.
"It's not your fault, Kouga-kun. You must stand up. The one responsible is still here. Kouga, can you hear me?" Kagome pleaded in his sensitive ears. He should have been able to hear her soft voice, however he gave no indication that he noticed her presence at all.
Kagome looked up over at Inuyasha. He looked back and walked towards the couple and wrapped an arm around Kagome's waist and pulled her off the unresponsive wolf-prince. He sniffed the air and uttered a low growl in the direction of the castle's front porch.
The front doors opened to reveal a beautiful wind-demoness. She looked around the carnage and smiled and then revealed two fans in her hands and quickly slashed them through the air towards a large mass of corpses. The dead bodies were reanimated and began to advance upon the trio.
"Kouga..Kouga...why have you betrayed us? Why have you abandoned the ways of your people?" The mass of bodies began to ask in raspy voices. Many no longer had all their appendages attached to their bodies. The mess that approached Kouga could hardly be recognized as anything tangible.
Kouga seemed to snap out of his daze. He stood and looked towards the floating bodies. He still had not seen the wind-demoness nor had he noticed the presence of his new friends. He began to walk towards the remains of his tribe members.
He raised his hand, palms outward to them. "I have never abandoned our ways." He answered the lifeless bodies.
"You have. You have betrayed who you are. Now we have come to invoke the right of challenge." One of the youkai bodies informed him as it raised a bloody arm towards the prince with the intent to attack.
Kagura sat back to watch her dance of death attack carry out. It was always amusing to watch the corpses of fallen friends fight one another. The living victim hardly ever realized that their friends were long since expired.
Sango and Miroku had arrived upon the scene soon after the trio and witnessed the dialog between Kouga and his lost kinsmen. They stayed upon Kirara and circled the area hidden in shadows. They noticed the wind demoness upon the front of the castle and decided she was the real target.
They landed near the castle walls intending to take the wind-youkai by surprise. It really was unfortunate that she was able to detect any change within the winds. She knew of their presence long before they had intended her to find out. With a quick flick of her wrist she sent another army of dead wolf youkai towards the humans before returning to her detached visual of the onslaught.
Inuyasha moved Kagome to stand behind him. "Stay with me. I'll protect you." He reassured her as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga to cause damage to the wolf problem.
"But, what about Kouga?" Kagome asked worriedly.
Inuyasha spared her a brief glance. "He is beyond our aid right now."
Kouga was slashing at his brothers. His eyes were red with rage. Blood tears flowed freely from his icy orbs. He was murdering his brothers. He was destroying his kin. He was forced to murder those he was supposed to protect and lead. He was their death all because he was selfish and wanted a human mate.
He was confused as well. How were his brothers able to survive these attacks of his? Some were fighting with severed limbs, but the pain seemed not to phase them in the slightest. The condition that most caught his attention and finally made him realize that these were not his brothers was when a particular corpse came at him minus a head.
Kouga quickly surveyed his surroundings from a different point-of-view. No longer was he the challenged wolf prince, but now he was the detached analytical tactician. He focused beyond the carnage to see his companions fighting a losing battle with his dead kinsmen. He finally saw the demoness responsible for this disaster.
"You!" Kouga shouted at the surprised demoness. She mockingly pointed a finger back at herself and mouthed 'me'? Kouga shook with rage renewed. "You have murdered my brothers. You must die!" He rushed towards her, past the mess of his brothers while taking hits all over his body.
He paid no attention to the blood that began to pour from his various wounds. The wind-youkai smiled at him and before he could come within ten feet of her flicked her wrists once again. The attack from her fans pinned Kouga to the ground and wounds appeared all around his body.
The dance of the dead that reanimated the corpses suddenly halted as Kagura focused her energy upon the eager-to-die wolf before her. A wicked smile lit up her face but before she could release her deadly attack someone interfered.
Kagome stood beside Inuyasha and released her arrow. Her aim was true and she struck the wind-demoness through her fan and one of her hands. The youkai turned crimson eyes towards her, but before she could seek revenge Inuyasha released his Kaze no Kizu.
It didn't seem to work. The demoness held her bleeding hand to her chest and laughed. "Do you think you could defeat Kagura, demoness of the wind, with an attack based upon my very element?"
"Inuyasha use that other attack Sesshoumaru taught you." Kagome suggested as the female youkai seemed to have focused her attention upon the two of them. "The one where you use their own energy against them."
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango's bone boomerang hit the preoccupied Kagura.
The demoness hissed at the intrusion. Miroku threw some spells upon her and she hissed some more. Kouga broke out of his trance and rammed her hard with his fist before fleeing away from any retaliation. Kagome strung another arrow but glanced at Inuyasha.
"I know you can do it, just focus. We'll buy you a little more time." Kagome encouraged as she took aim.
Inuyasha focused on the energies that surrounded Kagura. He smiled. He found his target and prepared to unleash Tetsusaiga's ultimate attack.
Kagura sensed the dual dangers coming from the hanyou and priestess. Another enchanted arrow could spell her doom but the unknown attack from the sword scared her more. She decided that it would be more wise to escape to fight another day.
She pulled a feather from her hair and transformed it. She hopped onto it quickly and escaped from the carnage before her guests could register her departure. Inuyasha lost his focus slightly and tried to release the attack instead.
It barely missed the wind-demoness however, it severed her dress on the back enough to reveal a spider tattoo.
"What could that mean?" He asked Kagome. She shrugged her shoulders before running over to Kouga who had collapsed onto the blood soaked ground.
"Kouga! Kouga! Can you hear me?" Kagome asked softly as she gathered the wolf-youkai in her arms and gently rocked him back and forth.
Kouga didn't seem to hear her. He was lost in his own grief. Kagome wrapped her arms tighter around the distraught fighter. He seemed to realize someone was holding him. He buried his head into her chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. He began to mutter quietly.
"All gone. All is lost. I have failed. I have failed them all. All my fault. All my fault." He whispered.
Kagome felt his grief deeply. It made her heart break. She was sympathetic by nature but this feeling was too strong for her to handle. She kissed him gently on the crown of his head and looked over the Inuyasha. He looked at her sadly. The scenery also upset him.
He slowly walked over to the blood drenched pair and hugged Kagome to his chest while she continued to try and comfort Kouga. "We have to leave this place. We can not stay here." Inuyasha told her sadly.
"What do we do about them all?" Kagome asked not bothering to look up.
"Normally, I would say that we should bury them. But there are so many and they are so mutilated. I think that perhaps we should burn them." Inuyasha answered.
Miroku and Sango walked up to the group. "I believe that would be the best course of action. Kagome, perhaps you and Kouga should go back to the den. We shall take care of the unpleasant details." Miroku offered.
"I want to help." Kagome whispered.
Inuyasha shook his head and squeeze Kagome tightly. "No. I don't want you to see any more of this. Go back now, Kouga needs your strength."
The friends helped place Kouga upon the back of Kirara. Kagome climbed behind him and held his limp body securely.
"It's okay Kagome-chan. We shall return shortly after nightfall." Sango replied waving her little sister off.
After Kirara disappeared with her burden, the three remaining friends looked at one another.
"I hate burial detail." Inuyasha grumbled.
"I do not believe anyone likes it." Miroku replied.
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Kagome was beginning to become frustrated. After they returned to the wolf den Kouga seemed to have regained some of his composure. He slid off the back of Kirara and walked towards the elder to tell him of the disaster. He did not even acknowledge Kagome. The sun recently had set and the others had not returned from the ghastly burial task.
Kagome sat dejectedly at a fire near the mouth of one of the caves with Hakkaku and Ginta. They had recently returned from the meeting between Kouga and the elder. They looked at the young human with sympathy.
"How is he?" Kagome quietly asked.
"I have never seen him this way." Ginta admitted.
"Do you think I can see him?" Kagome inquired hopefully.
Hakkaku sadly shook his head. "I am sorry sister, but he refuses to see anyone, including you. I am afraid that he is not himself."
"But he can't hide himself away from us! We care! We want to help! I want to help." Kagome's speech trailed off towards the conclusion as she began to stare blankly into the flames.
"It is not your fault. It is neither his fault. However, he bears the burden of guilt." Ginta replied.
"I just want to see him." Kagome whispered. The two wolf youkai suddenly became extremely quiet. Another presence was now in attendance. It was a presence that had great power but did not appear to be threatening at the moment.
The powerful youkai stood behind Kagome and leaned over her frame and wrapped his arms around her. "Kagome, I regret that I was not here in your time of need." The steely voice assured her while trying to ignore the stench of death that clung to his precious human.
"He hates me now." Kagome replied. She made no reaction to the rather unexpected embrace of the lord of the western lands.
"It is because of the bond. Do you remember when he shared his blood with you?" Sesshoumaru asked.
Kagome nodded her head. "You said it was rarely done."
"There is a reason for that. Once bonded in such a fashion, those involved are connected in multiple facets. Unfortunately in this case, that includes Kouga's feelings of guilt. They are stronger around you because you are mirroring his strong emotions."
Kagome turned around to face Sesshoumaru. Her tear-filled eyes sought answers in his wise golden eyes. "What should I do?"
Sesshoumaru stood up and pulled Kagome to her feet. "First, you must cleanse yourself of the smell. Second, you shall come with me to my palace and stay far away from Kouga until he has composed himself. The grief is too strong right now."
"But, I don't understand still why my absence will help him recover. Wouldn't he be more comforted by my presence?" Kagome asked as she allowed Sesshoumaru lead her towards the waterfalls.
Sesshoumaru shook his head resolutely. "No. His grief is strongest because he feels that if he had agreed to mate with another wolf-youkai then there would have been no challenge to his leadership. If there had been no challenge, then his kinsmen would be alive."
Sesshoumaru stopped upon the banks of the waterfall. "But he would be wrong either way. Naraku sent the wind-demoness. He would have simply found another way to attract a battle." Sesshoumaru noticed the weakness of Kagome's legs. They hardly seemed to want to support her.
He suppressed a sigh. He seemed to do that a great deal lately, ever since meeting this girl from the future. He picked up Kagome and slung her over his shoulder and walked through the water, drenching himself in the process. He dumped her into the stream.
She stood up straight after the shock of water awoke her senses. "I'd rather you be wet and clean, than dry and smelly." Sesshoumaru replied as he walked back out of the water to give her some privacy.
He shook himself like a wet dog upon the shore and waited with his back to the girl. "Hurry. I would like to return soon."
"What am I supposed to do after I am clean? My clothes are all wet. Do you wish me to get sick?" Kagome shouted at him as she ran her fingers through the gore in her hair. She didn't dare look at the mess she was creating in the once crystalline waters.
Sesshoumaru smirked. "You do not have to wear anything at all. I won't be offended."
"I bet you won't. You hentai inu-youkai." Kagome muttered.
Sesshoumaru pointed a few feet away from himself towards a boulder. "Upon that boulder I have placed a yukata for you to wear. I plan ahead my dear Kagome."
Sesshoumaru turned towards the water. "You sure you don't want me to help you with your hair?" He teased.
Kagome threw at him some recent gore she had cleaned herself of. Sesshoumaru stood in disgust and walked a little further from the vicinity and out of projectile range. "A simple no would have sufficed."
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Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara made their way back to the wolf den about an hour after Kagome had left. They were tired and disgusted from the task they recently undertook. Inuyasha saw Ginta and Hakkaku talking quietly near a fire and approached the two.
"Hey, where's Kagome?" Inuyasha asked them. He noticed that she wasn't nearby. Perhaps she was helping Kouga.
Ginta and Hakkaku exchanged nervous glances. Hakkaku pointed to Inuyasha. "One who looks like you took her away."
"What do you mean when you say 'took her away'?" Miroku carefully asked for clarification.
"He said that because of the bond she shared with Kouga that his feelings of guilt would only intensify in her presence. Then he said that Kouga blames both himself and her for the devastation of the tribe members." Hakkaku explained.
Inuyasha looked over to his human friends. "Is this true? Did Kouga and Kagome share a blood bond?"
Miroku nodded. "Yes, but I was unaware of it having any effect other than a speedy recovery on Kagome-sama's health."
"This is ridiculous. We have not the time for Kouga to wallow in self- pity, nor can we do much without Kagome's second sight. Where's Kouga? I shall speak with him." Sango told the men.
Ginta pointed in the direction of the cave Kouga had holed himself in and Sango marched that way with a look of utmost determination sketched upon her features.
"Did my brother say where he was taking her?" Inuyasha asked the two wolf demons.
"I believe he was taking her to his palace." Ginta replied.
"After Sango talks some sense into that wimpy wolf we'll have to go to Sesshoumaru's palace and continue our mission." Inuyasha told Miroku.
"Of course." Miroku agreed.
Sango walked into the dimly lit cave that housed Kouga. She found him easy enough. He was breaking apart sticks and tossing chunks of wood into his small fire. His face looked long and his eyes were hallow. Sango sat beside him, and he didn't give any indication that he was aware of her. He was completely aware, but he did not care.
"You are a fool." Sango told him bluntly.
Kouga set down the wood he was tearing apart and glared at her. "You think I don't know that?"
"Kagome's gone." Sango told him.
"It's probably for the best." Kouga answered returning his gaze to his fire.
"Sesshoumaru took her to his palace." The wolf youkai stiffened but tried to look unaffected by the news. "It's not your fault you know." Sango continued.
Kouga was listening, but he felt no need to respond.
"Kagura works for Naraku. Naraku is the one to blame for our misery. Perhaps you have forgotten but I too have lost my entire village to the monster. Do not lay the fault upon your shoulders for it is not yours to bear. And do not for an instant blame Kagome." Sango told him sharply.
Kouga finally looked at her. "I don't blame Kagome." He told her softly. "It's just that maybe if I hadn't been so stubborn. If I had just accepted the proposed engagement with Ayame then I would not have been challenged. And then my kinsmen would not have been needlessly slain."
"Once again, you are being foolish. Naraku would have simply found another way to kill your men. Maybe after we destroy Naraku and the jewel is whole Kagome will wish for all those lost because of Naraku to be restored." Sango told him hopefully.
Kouga stood up. "Maybe. The first thing is first; we must destroy Naraku. I believe that Kagome's plan for the jewel is to give it to Inuyasha. However, I do not want her to be alone with Sesshoumaru." Kouga began walking outside and Sango had to smile at the return of his attitude. It was a definite good sign.
Inuyasha noticed Kouga's return and wanted to smirk at Sango's victory. Kouga looked him directly in the eyes. Icy blue locked with gold.
"Let's go get my woman and destroy that scum Naraku and his henchmen." Kouga told the group with a determination they had never heard before from the wolf-prince.
The stench of death was overwhelming to the group. Even the humans were nauseated by the smell. However, the carnage that lay before them was more brutal to the eye than to the nose.
Inuyasha and Kagome arrived moments after Kouga. The field of battle, or slaughter-ground more appropriately, was littered with limbs and other dismemberments of the wolf youkai. The dirt was soaked in blood and gore was scattered everywhere.
Kagome slowly slid off of Inuyasha and rushed towards Kouga who had fallen to his knees looking in utter despair at the nightmare that surrounded him. His eyes had turned red and he didn't seem to notice that Kagome was hugging him gently from behind.
"It's not your fault, Kouga-kun. You must stand up. The one responsible is still here. Kouga, can you hear me?" Kagome pleaded in his sensitive ears. He should have been able to hear her soft voice, however he gave no indication that he noticed her presence at all.
Kagome looked up over at Inuyasha. He looked back and walked towards the couple and wrapped an arm around Kagome's waist and pulled her off the unresponsive wolf-prince. He sniffed the air and uttered a low growl in the direction of the castle's front porch.
The front doors opened to reveal a beautiful wind-demoness. She looked around the carnage and smiled and then revealed two fans in her hands and quickly slashed them through the air towards a large mass of corpses. The dead bodies were reanimated and began to advance upon the trio.
"Kouga..Kouga...why have you betrayed us? Why have you abandoned the ways of your people?" The mass of bodies began to ask in raspy voices. Many no longer had all their appendages attached to their bodies. The mess that approached Kouga could hardly be recognized as anything tangible.
Kouga seemed to snap out of his daze. He stood and looked towards the floating bodies. He still had not seen the wind-demoness nor had he noticed the presence of his new friends. He began to walk towards the remains of his tribe members.
He raised his hand, palms outward to them. "I have never abandoned our ways." He answered the lifeless bodies.
"You have. You have betrayed who you are. Now we have come to invoke the right of challenge." One of the youkai bodies informed him as it raised a bloody arm towards the prince with the intent to attack.
Kagura sat back to watch her dance of death attack carry out. It was always amusing to watch the corpses of fallen friends fight one another. The living victim hardly ever realized that their friends were long since expired.
Sango and Miroku had arrived upon the scene soon after the trio and witnessed the dialog between Kouga and his lost kinsmen. They stayed upon Kirara and circled the area hidden in shadows. They noticed the wind demoness upon the front of the castle and decided she was the real target.
They landed near the castle walls intending to take the wind-youkai by surprise. It really was unfortunate that she was able to detect any change within the winds. She knew of their presence long before they had intended her to find out. With a quick flick of her wrist she sent another army of dead wolf youkai towards the humans before returning to her detached visual of the onslaught.
Inuyasha moved Kagome to stand behind him. "Stay with me. I'll protect you." He reassured her as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga to cause damage to the wolf problem.
"But, what about Kouga?" Kagome asked worriedly.
Inuyasha spared her a brief glance. "He is beyond our aid right now."
Kouga was slashing at his brothers. His eyes were red with rage. Blood tears flowed freely from his icy orbs. He was murdering his brothers. He was destroying his kin. He was forced to murder those he was supposed to protect and lead. He was their death all because he was selfish and wanted a human mate.
He was confused as well. How were his brothers able to survive these attacks of his? Some were fighting with severed limbs, but the pain seemed not to phase them in the slightest. The condition that most caught his attention and finally made him realize that these were not his brothers was when a particular corpse came at him minus a head.
Kouga quickly surveyed his surroundings from a different point-of-view. No longer was he the challenged wolf prince, but now he was the detached analytical tactician. He focused beyond the carnage to see his companions fighting a losing battle with his dead kinsmen. He finally saw the demoness responsible for this disaster.
"You!" Kouga shouted at the surprised demoness. She mockingly pointed a finger back at herself and mouthed 'me'? Kouga shook with rage renewed. "You have murdered my brothers. You must die!" He rushed towards her, past the mess of his brothers while taking hits all over his body.
He paid no attention to the blood that began to pour from his various wounds. The wind-youkai smiled at him and before he could come within ten feet of her flicked her wrists once again. The attack from her fans pinned Kouga to the ground and wounds appeared all around his body.
The dance of the dead that reanimated the corpses suddenly halted as Kagura focused her energy upon the eager-to-die wolf before her. A wicked smile lit up her face but before she could release her deadly attack someone interfered.
Kagome stood beside Inuyasha and released her arrow. Her aim was true and she struck the wind-demoness through her fan and one of her hands. The youkai turned crimson eyes towards her, but before she could seek revenge Inuyasha released his Kaze no Kizu.
It didn't seem to work. The demoness held her bleeding hand to her chest and laughed. "Do you think you could defeat Kagura, demoness of the wind, with an attack based upon my very element?"
"Inuyasha use that other attack Sesshoumaru taught you." Kagome suggested as the female youkai seemed to have focused her attention upon the two of them. "The one where you use their own energy against them."
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango's bone boomerang hit the preoccupied Kagura.
The demoness hissed at the intrusion. Miroku threw some spells upon her and she hissed some more. Kouga broke out of his trance and rammed her hard with his fist before fleeing away from any retaliation. Kagome strung another arrow but glanced at Inuyasha.
"I know you can do it, just focus. We'll buy you a little more time." Kagome encouraged as she took aim.
Inuyasha focused on the energies that surrounded Kagura. He smiled. He found his target and prepared to unleash Tetsusaiga's ultimate attack.
Kagura sensed the dual dangers coming from the hanyou and priestess. Another enchanted arrow could spell her doom but the unknown attack from the sword scared her more. She decided that it would be more wise to escape to fight another day.
She pulled a feather from her hair and transformed it. She hopped onto it quickly and escaped from the carnage before her guests could register her departure. Inuyasha lost his focus slightly and tried to release the attack instead.
It barely missed the wind-demoness however, it severed her dress on the back enough to reveal a spider tattoo.
"What could that mean?" He asked Kagome. She shrugged her shoulders before running over to Kouga who had collapsed onto the blood soaked ground.
"Kouga! Kouga! Can you hear me?" Kagome asked softly as she gathered the wolf-youkai in her arms and gently rocked him back and forth.
Kouga didn't seem to hear her. He was lost in his own grief. Kagome wrapped her arms tighter around the distraught fighter. He seemed to realize someone was holding him. He buried his head into her chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. He began to mutter quietly.
"All gone. All is lost. I have failed. I have failed them all. All my fault. All my fault." He whispered.
Kagome felt his grief deeply. It made her heart break. She was sympathetic by nature but this feeling was too strong for her to handle. She kissed him gently on the crown of his head and looked over the Inuyasha. He looked at her sadly. The scenery also upset him.
He slowly walked over to the blood drenched pair and hugged Kagome to his chest while she continued to try and comfort Kouga. "We have to leave this place. We can not stay here." Inuyasha told her sadly.
"What do we do about them all?" Kagome asked not bothering to look up.
"Normally, I would say that we should bury them. But there are so many and they are so mutilated. I think that perhaps we should burn them." Inuyasha answered.
Miroku and Sango walked up to the group. "I believe that would be the best course of action. Kagome, perhaps you and Kouga should go back to the den. We shall take care of the unpleasant details." Miroku offered.
"I want to help." Kagome whispered.
Inuyasha shook his head and squeeze Kagome tightly. "No. I don't want you to see any more of this. Go back now, Kouga needs your strength."
The friends helped place Kouga upon the back of Kirara. Kagome climbed behind him and held his limp body securely.
"It's okay Kagome-chan. We shall return shortly after nightfall." Sango replied waving her little sister off.
After Kirara disappeared with her burden, the three remaining friends looked at one another.
"I hate burial detail." Inuyasha grumbled.
"I do not believe anyone likes it." Miroku replied.
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Kagome was beginning to become frustrated. After they returned to the wolf den Kouga seemed to have regained some of his composure. He slid off the back of Kirara and walked towards the elder to tell him of the disaster. He did not even acknowledge Kagome. The sun recently had set and the others had not returned from the ghastly burial task.
Kagome sat dejectedly at a fire near the mouth of one of the caves with Hakkaku and Ginta. They had recently returned from the meeting between Kouga and the elder. They looked at the young human with sympathy.
"How is he?" Kagome quietly asked.
"I have never seen him this way." Ginta admitted.
"Do you think I can see him?" Kagome inquired hopefully.
Hakkaku sadly shook his head. "I am sorry sister, but he refuses to see anyone, including you. I am afraid that he is not himself."
"But he can't hide himself away from us! We care! We want to help! I want to help." Kagome's speech trailed off towards the conclusion as she began to stare blankly into the flames.
"It is not your fault. It is neither his fault. However, he bears the burden of guilt." Ginta replied.
"I just want to see him." Kagome whispered. The two wolf youkai suddenly became extremely quiet. Another presence was now in attendance. It was a presence that had great power but did not appear to be threatening at the moment.
The powerful youkai stood behind Kagome and leaned over her frame and wrapped his arms around her. "Kagome, I regret that I was not here in your time of need." The steely voice assured her while trying to ignore the stench of death that clung to his precious human.
"He hates me now." Kagome replied. She made no reaction to the rather unexpected embrace of the lord of the western lands.
"It is because of the bond. Do you remember when he shared his blood with you?" Sesshoumaru asked.
Kagome nodded her head. "You said it was rarely done."
"There is a reason for that. Once bonded in such a fashion, those involved are connected in multiple facets. Unfortunately in this case, that includes Kouga's feelings of guilt. They are stronger around you because you are mirroring his strong emotions."
Kagome turned around to face Sesshoumaru. Her tear-filled eyes sought answers in his wise golden eyes. "What should I do?"
Sesshoumaru stood up and pulled Kagome to her feet. "First, you must cleanse yourself of the smell. Second, you shall come with me to my palace and stay far away from Kouga until he has composed himself. The grief is too strong right now."
"But, I don't understand still why my absence will help him recover. Wouldn't he be more comforted by my presence?" Kagome asked as she allowed Sesshoumaru lead her towards the waterfalls.
Sesshoumaru shook his head resolutely. "No. His grief is strongest because he feels that if he had agreed to mate with another wolf-youkai then there would have been no challenge to his leadership. If there had been no challenge, then his kinsmen would be alive."
Sesshoumaru stopped upon the banks of the waterfall. "But he would be wrong either way. Naraku sent the wind-demoness. He would have simply found another way to attract a battle." Sesshoumaru noticed the weakness of Kagome's legs. They hardly seemed to want to support her.
He suppressed a sigh. He seemed to do that a great deal lately, ever since meeting this girl from the future. He picked up Kagome and slung her over his shoulder and walked through the water, drenching himself in the process. He dumped her into the stream.
She stood up straight after the shock of water awoke her senses. "I'd rather you be wet and clean, than dry and smelly." Sesshoumaru replied as he walked back out of the water to give her some privacy.
He shook himself like a wet dog upon the shore and waited with his back to the girl. "Hurry. I would like to return soon."
"What am I supposed to do after I am clean? My clothes are all wet. Do you wish me to get sick?" Kagome shouted at him as she ran her fingers through the gore in her hair. She didn't dare look at the mess she was creating in the once crystalline waters.
Sesshoumaru smirked. "You do not have to wear anything at all. I won't be offended."
"I bet you won't. You hentai inu-youkai." Kagome muttered.
Sesshoumaru pointed a few feet away from himself towards a boulder. "Upon that boulder I have placed a yukata for you to wear. I plan ahead my dear Kagome."
Sesshoumaru turned towards the water. "You sure you don't want me to help you with your hair?" He teased.
Kagome threw at him some recent gore she had cleaned herself of. Sesshoumaru stood in disgust and walked a little further from the vicinity and out of projectile range. "A simple no would have sufficed."
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Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara made their way back to the wolf den about an hour after Kagome had left. They were tired and disgusted from the task they recently undertook. Inuyasha saw Ginta and Hakkaku talking quietly near a fire and approached the two.
"Hey, where's Kagome?" Inuyasha asked them. He noticed that she wasn't nearby. Perhaps she was helping Kouga.
Ginta and Hakkaku exchanged nervous glances. Hakkaku pointed to Inuyasha. "One who looks like you took her away."
"What do you mean when you say 'took her away'?" Miroku carefully asked for clarification.
"He said that because of the bond she shared with Kouga that his feelings of guilt would only intensify in her presence. Then he said that Kouga blames both himself and her for the devastation of the tribe members." Hakkaku explained.
Inuyasha looked over to his human friends. "Is this true? Did Kouga and Kagome share a blood bond?"
Miroku nodded. "Yes, but I was unaware of it having any effect other than a speedy recovery on Kagome-sama's health."
"This is ridiculous. We have not the time for Kouga to wallow in self- pity, nor can we do much without Kagome's second sight. Where's Kouga? I shall speak with him." Sango told the men.
Ginta pointed in the direction of the cave Kouga had holed himself in and Sango marched that way with a look of utmost determination sketched upon her features.
"Did my brother say where he was taking her?" Inuyasha asked the two wolf demons.
"I believe he was taking her to his palace." Ginta replied.
"After Sango talks some sense into that wimpy wolf we'll have to go to Sesshoumaru's palace and continue our mission." Inuyasha told Miroku.
"Of course." Miroku agreed.
Sango walked into the dimly lit cave that housed Kouga. She found him easy enough. He was breaking apart sticks and tossing chunks of wood into his small fire. His face looked long and his eyes were hallow. Sango sat beside him, and he didn't give any indication that he was aware of her. He was completely aware, but he did not care.
"You are a fool." Sango told him bluntly.
Kouga set down the wood he was tearing apart and glared at her. "You think I don't know that?"
"Kagome's gone." Sango told him.
"It's probably for the best." Kouga answered returning his gaze to his fire.
"Sesshoumaru took her to his palace." The wolf youkai stiffened but tried to look unaffected by the news. "It's not your fault you know." Sango continued.
Kouga was listening, but he felt no need to respond.
"Kagura works for Naraku. Naraku is the one to blame for our misery. Perhaps you have forgotten but I too have lost my entire village to the monster. Do not lay the fault upon your shoulders for it is not yours to bear. And do not for an instant blame Kagome." Sango told him sharply.
Kouga finally looked at her. "I don't blame Kagome." He told her softly. "It's just that maybe if I hadn't been so stubborn. If I had just accepted the proposed engagement with Ayame then I would not have been challenged. And then my kinsmen would not have been needlessly slain."
"Once again, you are being foolish. Naraku would have simply found another way to kill your men. Maybe after we destroy Naraku and the jewel is whole Kagome will wish for all those lost because of Naraku to be restored." Sango told him hopefully.
Kouga stood up. "Maybe. The first thing is first; we must destroy Naraku. I believe that Kagome's plan for the jewel is to give it to Inuyasha. However, I do not want her to be alone with Sesshoumaru." Kouga began walking outside and Sango had to smile at the return of his attitude. It was a definite good sign.
Inuyasha noticed Kouga's return and wanted to smirk at Sango's victory. Kouga looked him directly in the eyes. Icy blue locked with gold.
"Let's go get my woman and destroy that scum Naraku and his henchmen." Kouga told the group with a determination they had never heard before from the wolf-prince.