Pippin! I love you soooo! I would marry him if he weren't so obviously in love with dear Merry. I could never bear to part such happiness. Well, finally I've returned from winter break and I have a couple weeks of spare time, in which I will be able to write, watch movies and anime, perhaps construct winter clothes for dear Yusho, who is very displeased with the recent temperature drop, and also, write some more. So the truth of the matter is that I took advantage of my time at home to go back to what I like to call the old school method of a black pen and a notebook which is clearly falling apart, so I should be able to get chapters of at least THIS story out with relative ease. Ah, perhaps I spend too much time on pursuits that others would call pointless, trivial, and even empty. However, life is passing, and I say that while we can, we should always try to do what makes us happy. I don't know if there's much of a point to this except the entertainment of myself and those that might read it, but however empty it may seem to others, I know, and you know that…
*****
Something Is Real
Part 12
*****
Kouga's day was not going well.
It had started out normally enough, with the sounds of argument. Sounds that he was quickly learning to ignore. However accustomed he had become to such things, though, the mad screaming of an angry taijiya wielding a huge boomerang and chasing a perverted monk through the camp site was still able to wake him up.
This did not bother Kouga. It was normal.
After a sullen breakfast which consisted of much glaring and wound-nursing from the aforementioned alarm clocks over some nicely made soup courtesy of Kagome and Ayame's culinary efforts, Kouga went for a quick swim in the nearby river to wash off a bit of traveling dust despite the fact that Ayame would not let him alone even for that.
That did not bother Kouga either. It was to be expected.
Later, his semi-private bath was cut short by the need to mediate a fight between Ginta and Ayame at exactly the same time that Kagome stormed by, screaming at Inuyasha for tearing up a textbook to use as kindling and pausing only long enough to say that they needed to get moving.
Kouga did not mind. At least Inuyasha was making Kagome angry. Again. That was certainly satisfying in it's own right.
After that, traveling should have been relatively peaceful. Most days, trouble was caused between Sango and Miroku, Inuyasha and Kagome, or Ginta and Ayame. But since they had already fought in the morning, Kouga had hoped it would mean more moving and less arguing. The prospect was so nice that he ignored every snide and stupid comment Inuyasha made in the interest of keeping the peace. But then Kagome gave Shippo a box of sweet sticks, and Inuyasha promptly stole them. Peace was destroyed. They had to stop for nearly an hour.
Kouga was annoyed, but he took it all in stride. He prided himself on patience.
Later, they stopped for lunch. It should have taken little more than half an hour, but between Shippo and Inuyasha's raging argument over the last pork ramen and the unfortunate episode of Kagome leaning over in Miroku's grabbing range, which had ended with the monk being pummeled by Sango, Kagome, and Inuyasha, it was nearly dark by the time they were able to move again.
Kouga tried not to let this bother him, even though he desperately wanted to pummel Miroku as well.
But after only an hour of travel, they were stopped. Again. This time, the interference was slightly…unexpected. And now, there was some sort of executive council meeting taking place, and he was not feeling included. Well, he was there, but he just…couldn't concentrate on the issue.
"But how can you be sure she's on your side?" Sango indicated the red-eyed youkai sitting primly beside Kouga.
"If Kikyo says so, it's true." Inuyasha justified the assertions of the dead miko beside Kagura.
"I assure you, Kagura has no love for Naraku." Kikyo spoke up, her eyes as cold as ever. "If anything, she has more hate for him than many of us gathered here. He is not a man who inspires loyalty. Especially not after he has condemned her to death."
"Why would Naraku betray his own follower?" Miroku asked. "It is not as though he has a surplus of such things."
"Indeed, no." Kagura snorted. "I suppose he didn't like it when I tricked him in an attempt to have you kill him. Again. Sadly, you guys fell through. Again. So I was…ah, well, there was some trouble for me, but I'm here now, and that's all history."
"She could have left this all behind." Kikyo explained.
"But I won't be free until Naraku's dead." Kagura added. "And I knew Kikyo and I would need help."
"I think it's a good plan." Kagome surmised after a long silence. "We'll all be better off if we work together. And I know that even though we may never be friends," she glanced at Kouga and Kagura, "we can at least be allies."
"Speak for yourself." Ayame grumbled. "There's no way wolves can side with…her." She pointed at Kagura angrily. "She killed our kin."
"We swore vengeance!" Ginta added, seeming slightly hesitant to side with Ayame.
"And we don't need help from her, right Kouga?" Hakkaku asked, ducking his head and peering at his leader. Ginta nodded sharply, somewhat reassured as to the validity of his stand now that Hakkaku was agreeing with him, but Kouga remained silent. He turned a measuring look on Kagura, who seemed to dislike his scrutiny.
"I can understand." She managed, sounding much softer and less confident than before. "What I did was unforgivable."
"Kagura, please do not start this again." Kikyo ordered her companion in a weary tone.
"But really, to fight together effectively we must be able to trust each other. These wolves won't fight with me, and I'll only make the team weak by interfering." Kagura surmised, and Kouga blinked at her in surprise. She seemed so thoughtful now. All the time with Kikyo must have caused the change.
"I don't really wanna fight next to you, either." Inuyasha spoke up, his voice as harsh and rude as ever. "But I trust Kikyo, and she trusts you. So that's enough for me."
"Inuyasha…" Kagome was smiling in soft approval of his statement.
"Fine." Kouga spoke up at last. "But if you betray us, I'll be the first to rip your throat out."
"I assumed as much." Kagura told him before she stood gracefully. "Now, we've settled that, so let's eat. I'm utterly famished."
"I'll cook!" Kagome volunteered, and Sango agreed to help her. Miroku offered his assistance as well, but it did not last long before he had been sent to collect firewood instead, his cheek red and his plans foiled once again.
Kouga was supposed to gather firewood as well, but he soon enough spotted a familiar figure trailing behind him, and he spent much more effort avoiding Ayame than looking for wood. No matter how he tried to escape her, though, he ended up sitting right between Ginta and her at dinner that evening.
"Kouga, is this really okay?" she asked him in a hushed voice. "I mean…Kagura."
"Yeah, I thought you wanted her dead more than anyone else." Ginta reminded him.
"That's Naraku." Kouga hissed angrily. "He's the one we've been after all this time, remember?"
"But you said—" Hakkaku interjected, but an angry Kouga cut him off loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I don't care what I said then! Right now I'm saying she's our ally, so get used to it!" Kouga stood up and tossed away a crust of bread in frustration before storming out of the clearing.
Ayame immediately leapt up to follow him, but Hakkaku stopped her, shaking his head slowly. "Just let him go." The wolf was speaking in a low voice, but it was clearly a plea. "He gets like that sometimes."
"Sounds like someone needs a fucking nap." Inuyasha opined from where he was waiting for Kagome to hand him a second serving of dinner.
"Be nice, Inuyasha, he's just…having a hard time." Kagome told the hanyou, her glance drifting to Kagura, who seemed to be utterly absorbed in eating her food, as though nothing untoward had just happened. But Kagome couldn't help wondering, would this ever work? Such a group…could they ever learn to trust each other?
If she could trust Kikyo, couldn't Kouga learn to trust Kagura? It was something to hope for.
Kagome had a lot of hope. It was what she was good at.
----------
Kouga was resting. After a day like he had just been through, he deserved a break. But he was sure that Ayame would not let him be at peace for very long, so he was hiding. Sort of. He had climbed a tree to rest in the high branches as he had often seen Inuyasha do.
Of course, he would never admit to getting an idea of any sort from that idiot dog, but it was surprisingly relaxing once the wolf in him stopped protesting at the lack of earth under his feet. Kouga had long since learned how to ignore his instincts and still have them present in times when he needed them. Like during battle.
Or like at that moment, when he could smell an intruder approaching from the forest floor, walking straight toward the tree he was perched in as if they could sense him as easily as he could them. Taking a deep breath and turning away from the night sky, he immediately identified his visitor as the much-debated wind youkai herself. Kouga couldn't decide whether he wanted to see her or not, so he shifted to a crouching perch on his branch, ready to spring away the instant he wanted to. He wondered if she knew he was there or if her path was simply coincidental.
His question was answered when Kagura vaulted into the air with no warning, flipping over as she flew closer to him, swinging over a branch about halfway up a neighboring tree, pushing off the trunk with a smooth spin of limbs, and landing gracefully beside him with a final flip and a flourish of her fan.
"Yo," was all she said, red eyes glinting with amusement at his slightly open-mouthed expression. He realized how foolish he must look and snorted, settling back against the thick trunk of the tree he had spent about two hours in.
"Show off." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest in consternation. "What do you want?"
"I was just out for a walk." She told him, sitting smoothly so that her bare feet dangled off the side of the branch, which was still quivering slightly from her landing. "Mind if I join you?"
"Whatever." Kouga managed what he felt was a reasonably eloquent reply for the uncomfortable situation presented to him. Kagura didn't say anything for a long while, propping her hands on either side of her so that she could take in the stars without falling off the back of Kouga's branch. Kouga felt calm, sitting next to her quietly. And that seemed odd to him.
It bothered him that his instincts weren't sending him warnings. It seemed strange, and thinking about it only made him nervous. So he broke the silence.
""They don't know." Kouga realized that Kagura probably didn't know what he was talking about, so he elaborated slightly. "The others, about what happened. The cave, you know. I mean…they knew I was trapped."
"But not with anyone?" Kagura arched an eyebrow, not even turning to look at Kouga as she spoke. "I know. I didn't really think you would tell them. How could you?"
"I mean, what's to tell?" Kouga sighed and pursed his lips. "I didn't think there was a point, really. Them knowing we were there together…it'd just…there'd be questions, I know. Stupid questions."
"I don't mind." Kagura turned then, her lips quirking slightly as though she saw something funny but did not want him to know. "I won't say anything. Don't worry."
"Like I care." Kouga attempted a careless tone, but he came across sounding annoyed. "So, what happened?"
"Excuse me?" Kagura blinked in confusion.
"The barrier. Did Kikyo break it?" he asked. The question had been pushed aside for some time, as he had no way to know the answer, but with Kagura back, it bothered him once more.
"Yeah. I impressed her, or so she said." Kagura smiled faintly before continuing. "Sorry I left like that. But I thought that it was best for both of us." Kouga didn't say anything, only frowning at her slightly before she went on. "I mean, you probably didn't want me around."
"Don't. It isn't you." Kouga told her, stretching his arms up over his head. "I know we've had issues, but if this is going to work, we'll need to forget all that."
"I know." Kagura sighed and turned back to the sky. "So, can you trust me?" There was a long silence, and she thought he wouldn't answer her at all, or that he didn't want to. But he broke the pause after a while.
"I already do." He told her, and she turned to him so quickly that she overbalanced and almost fell. Had he really said that? "But I meant what I said before. If you betray me…"
"I won't." she assured him. "It's hard enough finding friends without betraying my allies." She stood, and after a light leap, disappeared below the canopy of leaves. Kouga sat back and stared at the stars.
Somehow, they didn't seem as bright anymore.
*****
The End (Of Part 12, That Is)