Now, that wasn't so long, was it? I hope most of my readers are still around...
Whoops! Forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter! And I didn't tell you what the next chapter would be called. Silly me.
Disclaimer: Two chapters' worth – I DON'T OWN INUYASHA! There...I said it.
WARNING: Monster chapter ahead, folks...really, really long. Go grab a drink or a snack or something – you'll be here for a while.
Tempting Fate
Chapter 7: Halfway Point
Miroku awoke slowly to the sound of claws tapping on the floor. He was about to shrug it off and try for a few more minutes of sleep when something began picking at his neck. 'Urgh, it's probably Shippo being annoying,' he grumbled to himself. Unwillingly, he unwrapped his hand from around Sango's waist – he was still amazed that she had allowed it to remain there the whole night – and flapped it lazily behind his head.
The hand froze when it met feathers...'What?!'
Eyes now open, he twisted around to get a better look. A beady eye looked straight into his, barely centimetres from his face. "Argh! You!" He made a furious grab for the chicken that had dared disturb his slumber. The intruding fowl gave an indignant squawk, dodged the houshi's clumsy capture attempt and flapped its way out of the hut in a flurry of feathers. Miroku glared after it, only to suddenly be thumped on the head by a very sleepy Sango. "What is the big idea, Miroku? In case you hadn't noticed, I was asleep."
"I know, love, I'm sorry. That thrice-damned chicken was in here again."
"You're kidding."
"No, really. The stupid thing woke me up." She burst into laughter, leaving him a trifle disconcerted.
"Never mind, Miroku – you'll catch it one day." Sango patted him on the shoulder comfortingly and then got to her feet, yawning as she looked around. "Hey, where are Kohaku and -"
"SHIPPO!" roared a familiar voice from outside. "Get back here, you little -"
"Aiee! Help, Kohaku! Get him!"
"What?! Why me?"
"You're the one with the sword! Ah!"
"Brat! Hold still so I can flatten you!"
The couple still in the hut simultaneously rolled their eyes. 'Another typical morning.' They went to the door, nearly bumping into Kaede as she hastily headed inside. "Good morning, both of you. Come to stop the fighting again?" Miroku reached out and took the basket she was carrying, flashing a grin.
"On the whole, I think I'd rather face Naraku." The old woman frowned at him.
"Houshi, that is not something to joke about."
"No, but it's true nonetheless." Sango huffed at him.
"Seeing as how you're helping Kaede, I suppose it's up to me to knock some sense into those two out there?" Sango gestured at the sight of Inuyasha racing madly after a desperately fleeing kitsune.
"Well..."
"Gah! Oh, fine. Kirara?" The tiny youkai cat bounded up to her mistress, purring. "Transform for just a moment." With the large, flame-wreathed feline beside her she stalked outside. "Inuyasha!" The hanyou yelled back at her, not pausing in his pursuit.
"Whaddaya want, wench?"
"Maybe I can't 'sit' you like Kagome-chan could -" he immediately froze at the word 'sit' - "but I doubt you can outrun Kirara." On cue, the cat growled menacingly. Inuyasha's eyes flicked nervously between Sango and Kirara, weighing up his chances.
"Feh!" He turned and dashed into the forest, quickly disappearing from view. Shippo collasped to the ground in a heap, taking deep gulps of air.
"Tha – thank you...whoa. I thought he had me for sure that time."
"Well, what did you do?" Shippo's mouth fell open.
"Me?! I didn't do anything!" He stood, planting his hands on his hips angrily. "I didn't – ow!" The kitsune rubbed his head where Kohaku had cuffed him.
"Tell the truth, Shippo."
"But -"
"I was chasing Shippo and he ran up to the tree that Inuyasha-sama was resting in." The boy winced in remembrance. "He wasn't exactly quiet about it, and Inuyasha-sama got mad." Sango eyed the pair suspiciously.
"That's all?" They nodded quickly.
"Argh!" Sango threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and stormed back to where Kaede and Miroku still stood. Miroku dropped the basket and knelt before her, bowing his head. "My hero! So clever, so brave -"
"Oh, shut up."
He chuckled, getting to his feet once more. "What was the mayhem about today?"
"Shippo got too close, and Inuyasha went crazy."
"Ah. Touchy, isn't he?" he asked with a smile. Kaede shook her head in sympathy.
"What seems to be ailing him so?"
"Did he dream again last night?" Miroku nodded.
"Yes – loudly, I might add. I think I may know why he is so easily angered this morning." The two women looked at him expectantly. "Do you realise that it has been one week to the day since Kagome-sama left with Kouga?" There was a moment of silence while the significance of that observation sank in.
"It's only half way," Sango murmured. "Poor Inuyasha." The others just nodded.
Sango sighed, her thoughts directed far from where she was. Despite her pretense of watching Shippo and Kohaku sparring for a while, Kagome's predicament rested most heavily on her mind.
"Ha! Dodge that, Kohak – OW!"
"Oi, didn't anyone ever teach you to duck?"
"Inuyasha never ducks – why should I?"
"Um, that's how come he's always wrapped up in bandages, Shippo."
"Oh. Guess you're right then. Hey – duck!"
"Hmm, a surprise attack attempt. Too bad it didn't work."
"Hey!"
Sango tuned the noise of the squabbling duo out. Had it really only been one week out of the two that Kouga had demanded? Amazing – it had felt like so much longer. "I wish I could see how she's doing." Although she knew perfectly well that the wolf youkai would never harm Kagome, it couldn't be denied that he was, well, dense. Often extremely so. At the very least, she mused thoughtfully, Kagome would be dangerously close to losing her patience with her most persistent suitor. And who knew what would happen then?
She jumped slightly when a tiny Kirara rubbed herself against her leg. "Decided not to chase him, ne?" Sango bent down to pet her, then paused suddenly. "Kirara could get there easily – nobody would know." She glanced quickly over to where Miroku was engaged in assisting some villagers with carting building materials to a partially-completed house. "He'll be busy for a while yet," she reasoned. "Probably won't even be able to tell that I'm gone – those slavedrivers will keep him busy." Nodding her head decisively, the demon exterminator had her companion transform, climbing aboard gracefully. "I'm coming, Kagome," she muttered determinedly.
***
"Hey, Kohaku, where's Sango going?" The boy twisted around in surprise.
"She's leaving?"
"Looks like it – but she's going without us!"
"Without Houshi-sama, too – oof!" Kohaku broke off as his legs were swept out from underneath him. He glared half-heartedly up at the grinning kitsune.
"Now that was a surprise attack!"
"Hmpf."
***
Miroku could take it no longer – dammit, he was not a carpenter! He was a houshi, for crying out loud. As smoothly as possible he made his excuses ("Oh, I do believe Kaede-sama is calling me. Musn't ignore the village priestess, you know!") and hightailed it away from the latest construction site.
Unfortunately he arrived back at the hut just in time to see his Sango beating a hasty retreat on Kirara's back. "Hum," he sighed, leaning wearily on his shakujou – which doubled nicely as a walking stick – "I wonder where she's off to in such a hurry?" He shook his head bemusedly and resumed walking, the rings on the shakujou jangling softly as he went. "Ah, that's annoying. What will I do all morning now? Somehow, meditating the day away is not all that appealing lately." The houshi stopped, weighing up the possibilities. 'Find Inuyasha – die shortly after. No. Follow Sango – get hopelessly lost because she's in the air and I'm on the ground. Another no. Go -"
His musings stopped as a stabbing bolt of pain shot like lightning up his arm, freezing him to the spot in terror. The shakujou tumbled to the ground, unnoticed.
That jolt had come from the Kazaana.
'No, not now!' he begged his cursed hand desperately. 'Things are just beginning to go right – aargh!' Another shot of agony ripped through him and he fell to his knees, one hand grasping feverishly at the rosary beads around the Kazaana's seal. He screwed his eyes tightly shut, waiting for the howling maelstrom to consume him once and for all.
It never came. In truth, he was rather shocked. 'I thought for sure...the damn thing never hurt like that before – especially considering that I haven't used it for days.' For a very brief moment he entertained the mad thought that perhaps that was the problem – he wasn't using it enough? Then he dismissed the notion as pure whimsy. He had gone for long lengths of time without using the Kazaana, and it hadn't hurt this badly since it was sliced open by that deceptively attractive mantis youkai. 'Sango would whack me on the head if she could hear me suggesting that,' he grimaced. 'Well, no point brooding about it, I guess. But that makes it final – I really must find something to do. Something preferably not involving hammers, nails or planks of wood!' Miroku gazed around curiously. As always, he could hear the noisy evidence of Shippo and Kohaku amusing themselves somewhere nearby. Suddenly he espied Kaede heading towards her herb garden. "Well, Kaede-sama is usually good for interesting conversation." Still gripping his hand in reaction to the pain, he made his way over to the old woman.
The abandoned shakujou lay forgotten on the grass.
***
Kaede glanced up when she sensed Miroku's approach, noticing his pallid face and shaking hands. She continued working, pulling weeds as he found a convenient spot to sit without dirtying his robes too much. "So, houshi, what is troubling you?" she enquired peremptorily. His eyes followed her movements, now slightly amused.
"What, are you now a reader of minds, Kaede-sama?" She grunted at him.
"No, young man; merely observant." Not finding any more weeds to pull, she slowly walked to the edge of the garden, looking the houshi straight in the eye. Miroku turned away, knowing full well that he could never hope to best the inscrutable miko in a battle of wits. "Naraku's curse – the Kazaana – decided to make its presence felt." He coughed when she raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, more felt than usual," he amended.
"Does it pain you at all?" Miroku gave her a humourless smile.
"It felt like my arm was being torn off."
"Ah. What I meant was, does it pain you at this moment? Do you need something to numb the pain?"
"I am very glad to say, no. The pain disappeared rather quickly. I can only assume that the Kazaana is growing again." Kaede frowned inwardly at the glum expression on the young man's face.
'This won't do at all.'
"If you're looking for something to do -" she suppressed a smile as his eyes lit up – "perhaps you could find the two young ones and see what they're up to." Miroku regarded her rather sceptically.
"Kohaku and Shippo?" His reluctance was obvious.
"Yes, or more specifically – Kohaku." she looked at him knowingly. "You're still not completely comfortable around the child, are you? Well, it will do you good to spend some time with him...away from his sister." Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she began walking to her hut, leaving a ruffled-looking houshi behind her.
'Not completely comfortable? Of all the nerve – I fought beside the boy in Naraku's castle, didn't I?'
'And you have barely spoken a word to him since then,' a voice in his head remarked cuttingly.
Well. That was unwarranted.
Wasn't it?
Ah – he had an explanation. He had been somewhat preoccupied with Sango, after all. Romance was so hard to come by these days. It slowly dawned on him that almost the entire group – with the exception of Kagome, who had simply not been around – had eventually left Kohaku in the sole care of Shippo (although the boy seemed to take more care of the kitsune than the other way around). Inuyasha would have deemed this to be cruel and unusual punishment – Kohaku seemed to like it just fine.
'That's no excuse and you know it!' the voice ranted.
Hff. Fine. Time to go find the youngsters, he supposed.
***
Kohaku focused on his target with single-minded determination.
A little while ago, Shippo had gotten tired of being whipped by Kohaku's sheathed sword – hey, it wasn't his fault his father had been such a good teacher! - and had suggested a new means of entertainment. Currently they were preparing to race each other to see who was fastest to the Goshinboku.
That was his target – get to the Goshinboku. First!
An onlooker might have complained that Kohaku had the advantage of size over his diminutive opponent. Said onlooker would have forgotten that the kitsune was a youkai, with youkai speed as part of his heritage. Fortunately there were no onlookers.
Shippo counted down. "3 – 2 – 1!" And the race was on.
It turned out that the two were pretty evenly matched, all things considered. Kohaku was slightly behind, concentrating with all his might on the task of overtaking the surprisingly speedy kitsune. A glint of gold was all the warning he had before he found himself sprawled face-down in the grass, wondering what on earth had happened to him.
He looked up at the sound of an amused voice. "Ah, I see you found my shakujou for me. Well done, even if your way is a little...unusual."
"H-Houshi-sama!" Kohaku sputtered, scrambling to his feet. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to -" Miroku waved a hand at him airily.
"Oh, don't worry. Look, no harm done." The houshi picked up his staff and gave it a few experimental swings. "See – still in one piece. Don't trouble yourself about it, kid."
He paused.
"And for goodness' sake, call me Miroku!"
Kohaku opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when a red furry blur barrelled into him at full speed. "I won! Ha, beat that – I won!" Shippo bounced on the spot (which happened to be Kohaku's stomach at that point). The boy exchanged a wry grin with Miroku, who was trying valiantly not to laugh.
He sighed. "Yes, Shippo. You won."
"Mizumi, wait for me!" Kagome gasped hoarsely. The wolf skidded to a halt, mentally slapping herself on the forehead.
'Not so fast, she's human, not so fast!!'
"Gomen, Kagome. I keep forgetting that you don't have youkai speed. After all, you've fit so well into the tribe that it seems you have always been here. Strange, ne? Well, not really so strange, I guess. You can't deny that Kouga treats you like the alpha female, and a mere human wouldn't get that kind of respect, and his packmates back him up on that too -"
"Mizumi, STOP!" Kagome laughed. Then she crossed her arms playfully. "A mere human?" Mizumi's eyes widened.
"Oh – um – that's not what I meant! Er..."
"It's fine, Mizumi," Kagome giggled. "I get the point." Mizumi sighed in relief, then stiffened as a new scent invaded her senses.
"Um, Kagome?"
"What is it?"
"Behind you!"
Before the girl had a chance to turn around she was dangling over someone's shoulder. "Wha-?"
"You're not running away this time!"
"Kouga!" Kagome shrieked, absolutely mortified. "Put me down at once!" He turned, preparing to race away with his prize.
"No chance, Kagome. You are going to talk to me."
"Kougaaa," she said warningly. "Have you forgotten so soon?"
"Argh!" He jumped, surprising Mizumi with his yell. "Dammit, Kagome, that hurts!"
"Don't mess with a miko, Kouga!" She twisted her upper body to glare at the back of his head, getting nothing but a faceful of his long hair for her trouble. In the background she could hear Mizumi breaking into fits of laughter. "Ooh, this is so not funny!" Mizumi stopped laughing long enough to wave at her.
"Have fun Kagome! Kouga, be nice." He gave her a toothy grin and dashed away into the surrounding forest, leaving Mizumi laughing until tears ran down her face. "Well! I guess he's got a little to learn about patience, but he certainly makes up for it in enthusiasm!"
***
Kagome made every effort to reign in her temper while the wolf youkai had her over his shoulder. The last thing she wanted was for one of her 'stings' to make him jump again. Her stomach was still protesting against the rough treatment it had gotten earlier.
'Note to self: wait until you're off of the youkai before you attack it,' she reminded herself drily.
The trees rushed by at an amazing speed – how fast was this wolf-boy going anyway? It all seemed like one great big green blur! Despite her disorientation, she vaguely recognised the direction in which her impromptu mode of transportation was taking her. "Hey, isn't this where you took me before?" she yelled down to Kouga. He didn't reply. Apparently reaching his desired destination he pulled to an abrupt stop, reaching up to settle his burden on the ground. She looked around curiously; sure enough, it was the same point from which he had shown her the bird's eye view of the tribe at night. Kagome glanced back at the now frowning Kouga. "I assume you're going to tell me what all this is about, then?" she asked. The girl was a little taken aback at the low growl that began issuing from the wolf's throat.
"As I said before, you will talk to me, Kagome. I don't want you running away from me every time I get near you!" Guilt curled through her at the pained look that was beginning to creep into his eyes. Well, it was true – she had been running away from him. And as she had told herself repeatedly, it wasn't really fair on him at all. If nothing else, he deserved a decent explanation from her. Kagome sighed in defeat. "You're quite right, Kouga-kun. I have been running away from you -" he cut her off by laying a clawed finger over her lips. She pulled back, startled.
"You didn't call me that before." His eyes looked at her curiously. "Why do you call me that now?"
"What? You mean, 'Kouga-kun'? I've always called you that!" He shook his head adamantly.
"No! Back at the mountain, when I got you, you didn't call me 'kun'. You simply called me Kouga." She stared at him.
"A little off track here, aren't we?"
"I want an answer, Kagome. Why didn't you call me 'kun'?" She clenched her fists in exasperation.
"I was mad at you! I just didn't think to – I wasn't concentrating, I guess." Her anger lessened as she tried to work out the puzzle. Even when she was flaming mad at the houshi, she never forgot to call him 'Miroku-sama'. So why had she forgotten now?
"I would appreciate it if you would just call me by name from now on, Kagome. The whole 'Kouga-kun' title always sounded...I don't know. Trite. Childish. And I am most definitely not a child." Kagome gulped. Just when had he gotten so close to her? His voice was deepening with something serious, something...dangerous. She fought against the sudden urge to take a few steps backwards. "O-okay. No more 'kun', I promise." His look turned triumphant. 'Time to remind him of why we're here in the first place. Oh, gods, I don't want to! This is going to be awful.'
"Kouga, you asked me why I was avoiding you?" she ventured nervously. His blue eyes bored into her own. "It's...because, um, you want me to be your mate." A slight look of confusion crossed his features.
"I've never made any secret of that, Kagome. Why should that make you run from me now?" He gripped her shoulders to get his point across, using just enough pressure to hold her still. "Have I treated you with anything but kindness since you came here?"
"You just stole me from your tribe!"
"That doesn't count!" he declared. "I have given you every respect that a male can give his female. It seemed to me that you were adjusting to life here very well – life with me," he emphasised earnestly. "I want nothing more than to have you stay here! Shards or no shards." Kagome reached up timidly to lay one hand against his chest, his heartbeat thumping against her touch. She looked at him, silently begging him to understand.
"Kouga, did you truly expect me to forget all about Inuyasha in just one week?"
Sango looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the wolf territory where Kagome had been living. "Come on, you were here just a few days ago," she berated herself, "surely you can remember where it was?" A sudden movement below her caught her eye and she urged Kirara lower to get a better look. She nearly fell off of the animal when she saw what it was.
Kouga and Kagome had just arrived in a clearing just underneath her! And by the looks of it, they were having a pretty intense conversation. She couldn't hear what they were saying from this height, but she didn't dare land for fear of Kouga scenting her out. Needless to say, that would have been disastrous.
Sango blinked in disbelief when Kouga raised his arms to hold Kagome by the shoulders. 'Let her go, you flea-bitten -' Her train of thought was violently derailed when Kagome laid a hand on the wolf's chest, still within his embrace. No signs of anger, no retaliation, no offended dignity – bad indications, all of them. She gave an involuntary yelp when Kouga's eyes slid closed. 'He's going to kiss her?!'
The demon exterminator watched as the pair jumped apart at the unexpected noise she had made. She flinched as Kagome's eyes found her, face flushing madly. Time to go.
Kirara needed no urging to beat a hasty retreat from their spying position in the sky. As they sped back to Kaede's village, the image of the couple locked in an embrace burned itself into her brain. 'Well, Kagome-chan – if this is your choice, then I can't stop you. But Inuyasha is going to go absolutely insane when he finds out.' She paled at the thought of the already irascible hanyou discovering the new relationship. 'He'll kill everything in sight – it's too dangerous! He can't find out.' Sango nodded to herself. She would keep this information secret, for safety's sake.
'I hope you know what you're doing, Kagome-chan...'
Her words echoed in his mind. "Did you truly expect me to forget all about Inuyasha in just one week?"
"Yes!" he wanted to shout, but he knew she would never accept that from him. He let his eyes close in his sadness. At this rate, his woman would never be his. And that hurt.
His senses flared to life at her quick intake of air. "Kagome, what's wrong?" He followed her finger to where it was pointing upwards. A firecat was hovering above them, with a rider clearly visible.
"Sango!" Kagome gasped, wrenching herself out of Kouga's grip hurriedly. "Oh no – she saw us!" The girl wrung her hands in agitation, forcing him to take hold of them to keep her from injuring herself. "The way it must have looked from up there...she's going to get the wrong idea about us, and she'll tell the others!" She continued moaning to herself, for the moment not paying attention to her surroundings. The wolf watched as the intruder made herself scarce. When she had disappeared, he looked down to where Kagome was still fighting against his hold unknowingly.
"Kagome – your hands are all red." She looked at him, not understanding.
"Take me home, Kouga – all of a sudden I'm kind of tired." He picked her up, feeling her sag against him. He began to walk back to the den – she wasn't the only one who needed time to think about what had happened.
***
Mizumi gaped in astonishment at the arriving pair. 'They shouldn't be back so soon! What is that man playing at?' To her consternation, Kouga merely deposited Kagome in the den and raced away, his expression stony. "Kagome? Hey, what happened?" Kagome walked over to where some wolf cubs were playing on the floor, taking a seat beside them.
"It's not important, Mizumi. Just let it go." The wolf huffed in annoyance.
"No! I've never seen either of you so upset, and I want to know what's going on! Did he do something to make you angry, or was it the other way around?" Kagome looked up from where she was fondling a cub's ear softly – the cub was in ecstasy.
"No, it wasn't anything like that. I, um...do we have to talk about this?" she pleaded. Mizumi just looked at her. "Right. Er -" she took a deep breath –
"ItoldhimIwasavoidinghimbecausehewantedmetobehismateandIloveInuyasha!"
Mizumi exploded. "What?! How could you – after all you've told me, this Inu-whoever is a pushy, domineering, ungrateful bully! How could you prefer him over Kouga? Kouga is the leader of a successful tribe, he obviously adores you, he's attentive and kind, he'll make a great father – what more do you want?" She glared at her friend angrily. "Until you've come to your senses, I will be outside." So saying, the female stormed out, leaving a trail of anger in her wake.
Kagome's hand stilled as she thought about what the wolf had said. The cub noticed the loss of his ear-scratcher and butted his head against her hand imperiously. She started the rubbing again absentmindedly, the question ricocheting in her brain. "What more do you want?"
"I don't know," she answered softly to nobody in particular. "I just don't know."
A/N: Wow – no cliffhanger. This must be a first for me! Well, it started kind of slow, but the tension is brewing...and meanwhile, just what is Naraku up to? The next installment should hold a fair few answers. And it won't be posted in two months, either! More like a week or two.
Next Chapter: Blurred Reality.
Ookay. What you've all been waiting for – Reviewer Replies for Ch 6. I was a little bored, so I replied to 'em all. Here goes!
Aamalie – Yep, Kouga can be a bit arrogant. Well, I can't have him suddenly be perfect, can I? Hey, how did that thing with the guy go?
Time's mortal enemy – So glad you like the M/S fluff. Kikyou – don't quite know where I stand with her. Right now I'm torn...evil or misguided? Heh. I mean, she was good once. Just not any more. Hmm. But I agree with one thing – the zombie Kikyou has to go!
Lady Tiger Lily – Didn't have to wait quite as long for this update! Hope you like it.
ShadowHeart – I live in Australia. More specifically, Brisbane (Queensland). Beautiful place. The heatwave is gone (Hallelujah!) and we have 25 degree days now that it's March. *sigh* Paradise. Makes writing much easier!
Miztikal-Dragon – Kouga, a stalker?! Whoa. Too much for me.
Inudemoness247 – I normally update once a week. The 2 month gap was kind of unusual.
Mvdiva – Hello again! That Naraku image was just cute – if a little scary O.O
AyumiH – Ffnet sent me your review four times! Weird. Thanks for the comment about my name -bet you can't guess why I chose it?!
Poohsbestfriend – Hmm. Most M/K fics are just plain weird, if not icky. But there are some that are just fantastic. Check out 'Cursed Touch' by Rurouni Star and 'Chasing Methuselah' by Sandra E. If you're not convinced after reading them, then there's nothing more I can do. The work thing is...progressing. Slowly. And yes, lemons are quite unnecessary in general, unless they are key to the plot. Then they're ok. And if you'll excuse me, now I have to go hide from lemon fans!
Ashley (aka InuMad) – Whee! A new reader! And so prompt with the reviews. Ah...you took my advice and read Under Control first. Thanks for the feedback. Very encouraging. Mizumi's mate – hmm, wouldn't you like to know? *evil grin* You'll just have to keep reading and find out, I guess!
Jessica T It's Me! - My most faithful reviewer. Thanks for stopping by yet again. I can't believe you reread the entire story. Now that's dedication! Good luck with the college/scholarship thing.
A/N: Well, that's it. Let me know in a review if you want to be on my update mailing list, okay? Or just leave a review! Hmm. Anyone see a pattern here? Praise makes me write faster, it's a proven fact! And apologies in advance for any spelling or grammar goofs – I don't got no spellchecker!