A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but I have a great reason. Ready for it? *deep breath*

I GOT A JOB! I GOT A JOB! I GOT A JOB! Okay, it's out of my system now.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except two wolves called Mizumi and Namako.

Tempting Fate

Chapter 13: Dangerous Assumptions

The two youkai were moving so quickly that they seemed to blur into one ball of motion – all snapping fangs and stabbing claws. Every so often they would spring apart, catch their breath and then jump right back into the fray. It was no-holds-barred, winner-take-all fighting.

Kagome didn't think she had ever seen anything so savage before in her life.

Unwilling to run away, she settled for yelling at the combatants from a relatively safe distance. To her relief, Inuyasha seemed to pick up on her voice – the solid red of his eyes began to flicker. 'He's fighting the transformation!' Perhaps it was the proximity to Tetsusaiga, perhaps it was her miko influence – she didn't know. But the fact remained that Inuyasha's youkai state was a little…unstable. She found this rather reassuring considering the circumstances. However, she was unable to do anything but observe as her two suitors battled it out in front of her.

It was during one of the slight pauses in between fighting that the shouting began. "You've been spying on me, Inukkoro!" Kouga hissed through his teeth. "That's lower than I thought even you would stoop." At that accusation Inuyasha's eyes glowed a deep red before he somehow caught himself.

"I haven't done anything of the sort, flea-bag," he snarled contemptuously. The hanyou's now golden eyes flicked over to where Kagome was standing anxiously. "I wish I had – then maybe you would have kept your mangy paws off of my woman!"

Kagome didn't know whether to be thrilled or disgusted that Inuyasha was so clearly jealous. 'What is it with these youkai? I have a name, and it's not 'my woman'.' His next words, however, took her breath away. "I've seen you – seen you watching her, following her around, touching her…two weeks it's been happening!" Kagome was aghast.

'Two weeks? He thinks we've been…like that ever since I came here?' Now she was mortally affronted. 'How can he think I would do something like that?' Kouga, she was worried to note, was no less upset by the slanderous charge than she was.

"You insolent cur!" he barked sharply. "I am a prince of wolves! Unlike you, I have some honour! For you to say that about this woman is shameful. She has done nothing to deserve this kind of treatment from the likes of you!"

"Don't you dare deny it!" Inuyasha roared furiously. His eyes darkened ominously as he spoke. "I've seen you! Every night…every night I've seen you!" In a move too fast to see, he lashed out and kicked Kouga in the jaw, sending him flying backwards. Kouga smashed into the ground and lay there, stunned and unable to move.

***

Kirara and her load of passengers arrived just in time to hear the angry exchange between the two rivals. "Quickly!" Sango ordered, "we have to hurry, or something bad is going to happen!" As the group rushed towards the sounds of the fighting, Miroku said quietly, "Wasn't that a bit of an understatement?" Sango looked over at him grimly.

"If what I saw is what really happened, then the 'something bad' has already come to pass. This is just the aftermath." Miroku said nothing, knowing that she was right. Just then the maddened roar reached them.

"Every night…every night I've seen you!" A resounding crack followed, and Kagome's panicked voice rang out.

"KOUGA!" Sango and Miroku gestured for the boys to keep up and put on a burst of speed, skidding to a forced halt when they reached the scene of the action. They couldn't believe the sight that met their eyes. "Miroku?" Sango whispered hesitantly, "tell me that isn't Inuyasha advancing on Kagome?" He shook his head.

"I'm afraid it is. He seems to have turned on her. I only hope she can stop him."

"We can help –"

"They're too close together. Anything we do to Inuyasha will only end up hurting Kagome as well." Sango crouched close to the ground, ready to move when the opportunity came. For the time being, she was a mere observer – and she didn't like it.

***

"KOUGA!" Kagome yelled worriedly. At her shout the crazed Inuyasha's attention left his victim and focused instead upon the miko. She suppressed a startled gasp at the sight of his brilliant red eyes. It didn't look like the transformation was all that unstable any more. And now it seemed that yelling out like she had wasn't such a good idea after all. "You," he snarled, walking slowly towards her. "My mate – you betrayed me. You allied yourself with another – a wolf. I should rip your heart out where you stand!"

Kagome's eyes flicked to the side instinctively as Kouga began to move around sluggishly. 'He's recovering – thank goodness!' Unfortunately Inuyasha' sharp perception caught the movement, making him more angry than ever. "Don't worry yourself about him. An unfaithful mate is undeserving of forgiveness! Prepare to meet your end, mate." He spat the word out as though it tasted foul. Kagome found herself frozen to the spot as he drew ever closer, his claws extended.

"HIRAIKOTSU!" The furious shout gave the youkai just enough warning jump backwards out of the weapon's path. It sliced through the air and returned to its owner's hand. "Sango!" Kagome cried in relief. "Miroku!" she called out, spying the familiar shape of Tetsusaiga at his hip. "Can you get the sword to him?" The houshi grimaced.

"Not while he's like this. I can't get close enough!" Kagome dashed over to him while Inuyasha was still trying to get past Sango.

"Give me the Tetsusaiga. If he comes at me again, maybe I can get him to touch it somehow." Miroku looked like he would object, but then he gave in and handed over the weapon.

"Be careful, Kagome-sama. This isn't worth your life." She looked at him fiercely.

"No-one is going to die today," she declared with determination. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

***

Kohaku watched as his sister struggled to keep pace with the enraged youkai's attack. As long as she could ward him off with Hiraikotsu, she was fine – if she let him get within a much closer range, she would be in serious trouble. However, to his mounting frustration the fight was too fierce for him to have much effect if he were to join in. He would just get in the way.

"I wish I could get closer," he muttered to Shippo beside him. "Ane-ue is saying something, but I can't hear it!" Shippo growled in annoyance.

"What if it's important? Sango might need our help, and we're stuck over here!" Kohaku looked at him helplessly. An idea struck the kitsune. "An illusion!"

"Huh?"

"I could use an illusion to sneak over there!" Kohaku thought about this for a second.

"What about me?"

"Um…"

Without their noticing it, the fight had come closer to their position, allowing a much better vantage from which to eavesdrop. "Never mind." Voices pierced the cool air.

"You have no right to do this! You let her go, remember?" She flung the enormous boomerang out at him, making him duck hurriedly.

"She is my mate! Not his! It is my right to punish them!"

"Who Kagome chooses as a mate is her business!" He paused, his fogged brain making a connection.

"You don't seem surprised by this, wench. Why not?" He snarled in sudden comprehension. "You knew?!" He caught the flying boomerang and ripped it out of her grasp in a rage. "Traitor!"

From the sidelines, Kohaku watched as the youkai's attacks stopped being merely defensive and became more serious. "Ane-ue!" All thoughts of safety gone, he raced over to where his sister was standing, his sword drawn. He vaguely noticed that Shippo had joined him, as well as the houshi. The three of them faced off against their opponent, allowing Sango to recover. Miroku fingered the beads wrapped around his sealed hand.

"I don't want to, Inuyasha, but I will if you so much as harm a hair on Sango's head," the houshi warned his friend gravely.

***

Kagome watched in horror as her friends faced each other in fighting stance, the rusted sword gripped tightly in her shaking hands.

"How did this happen?" she wondered frantically. "We're fighting our own friends, when we should be concentrating on Naraku! This could rip us all apart...""

The miko glanced over as the wolf youkai began to painfully lift himself off of the ground nearby. "Kouga, are you alright?" He grunted at her.

"I'm just wonderful." He looked up, concerned. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she shook her head sadly, helping him to a sitting position. "But I have the feeling that someone will be very soon."

A/N: Argh! I know, it's a horrible place to leave it off, but there's more to come! Maybe not tomorrow – I'm horribly busy with gym, work and church stuff – but the day after there should be something. Hint – Naraku comes out of hiding!

Reviewer Replies:

Inudemoness247 – I'm glad you think it's improving. Kouga will be fine…eventually.

Stripe – Anything that gets in the way of reading and reviewing fics is a horrible nuisance! *grins* But don't feel you have to go out of your way for mine or anything. Thanks for reviewing!

Rogueandkurt – I don't know how I did those fast updates either…I know the cliffies can be evil, but the anticipation just makes the story better when the next bit finally does come.

Aamalie – Sugar high? Reminds me of when I wrote Shippo on a candy-high. So crazy, it's scary.

ShadowHeart – I actually haven't seen that movie (shocking, I know) so I never made the connection between the word and the character. I hope you didn't go crazy waiting for the update, as so many people have threatened to do!

Lady Tiger Lily – Nope, no Sess+Kagura. You're never going to guess my next lot of pairings…hee.

Darkinuyasha – Thanks for the comments. Inu's behaviour is a bit weird, but he's crazy! We all do weird things when we're crazy.

Time's mortal enemy – That's a good point. If you kill me, I can't update. Wouldn't that be a shame? I enjoy reading cliffies within a story, but only if that story hasn't been abandoned. Just leaving it like that for months on end is wrong! I try not to do that.

Rushyuo – I never could resist puppy dog eyes…here you go!

Ashley (aka InuMad) – I hope you're still sane after a few days of waiting! No worries about not reviewing every chapter, it's fine. I hope your house is fixed up from the wild horses trying to drag you away *grin*. You don't want the story to end??? Sorry but it will – but there is another story planned that you might want to keep an eye out for.

Inuyasha-kodacha21 – Kagome is still a bit shocked, but she'll recover soon. And then – watch the sparks fly! It will be awesome, absolutely.

Miztikal-Dragon – I guess I'd better go into hiding once this story is done, huh? Lots of people trying to kill me…

Angelic-goddess - *hands you a first-aid kit* That's for falling off the chair. Thanks for reading!

Emma – I will finish it, don't worry. But it's still got a ways to go.

Eternal_Nysa - *claps hands with you* Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Dancing-by-moonlight – Ahh, someone else as confused on the pairings as I am. I was hardcore I/K, got interested in S/K, then some M/K (strange), and I was always curious about K/K. That's where this little hobby came from. Hope you like this bit!

Mvdiva – Yea! *cheers with you* Glad you liked it!

Yash – A professional writer? Wow. Well, this fanfiction of mine is kind of like practice for the real thing. Honing my skills before trying it out for myself, in a way. Thanks for the compliment!

Shadow-Wolf-Jedi-Demon – Interesting name you've got there. I'm glad you like my story!

A/N: Well, that's all of them. So many reviews – whee! Couldn't believe it when I looked in my inbox…

Next update in a few days. Reason? I'm sick *sneezes*, I'm working tomorrow, and I'm performing for the next few nights. So, very busy. Sorry for the delay, but that's how it goes.

Thanks for wishing me luck for the job interviews – I got it, so I guess it worked! I start working in just over a week. Still can't believe it.