Konnichiwa! I got a little sidetracked this week, and I posted a one-shot about Sesshoumaru-sama. But now I'm back, and ready to go on with the story! Sorry for making you wait, my wonderful reviewers. Oh, and thanks to one of you, I noticed that I wasn't accepting anonymous reviews. I fixed it!

Disclaimer: I realized the other day that I wasn't Rumiko Takahashi. I am heartbroken.

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"Five…four…three…two…one." Kouga straightened his back and nodded to himself. "Time's up."

He was preparing to sprint when a faint crashing sound reached him. He sniffed the air, and grinned when he recognized Kagome's scent. But there was something salty about it, too. His brow creased in concern as he watched her stumble through the last cluster of bushes and onto the forest floor.

He panicked, thinking she might be hurt. "Kagome!" He sniffed and sighed in relief when he smelled no blood.

"I'm all right," she mumbled. She was still on the ground. "I just tripped. Sorry." She reached up and wiped at her eyes, and tried to hide a sniffle.

"What did he do to you, Kagome?" He sounded very dangerous right then, and Kagome quickly choked back her tears. "Nothing, Kouga-kun. He didn't do anything. It's just…"

Kouga watched as she broke down, and his fists clenched tightly at his sides. "What happened, Kagome?" He kneeled down at her side, stroking her hair encouragingly. "Tell me."

"I saw them together, that's all," she whispered at the ground. Kouga winced. She had been hurt by that cheating hanyou again. How could she even consider falling in love with a worthless mutt who had some twisted obsession over a corpse? She didn't deserve to get hurt like this.

"Inuyasha is a fool," he said fiercely. Before she could protest, he swept her back into his arms. "You are my woman, and Inuyasha does not respect you as such. You are coming back with me to my den."

Kagome started struggling then, a look of panic crossing her pretty features. "No, Kouga! I have to stay near and make sure nothing happens to Inuyasha!" She took advantage of the stunned expression he gave her to wriggle out of his grasp.

"I can't leave the group, remember?" she added quietly. "We've got a job to do." She pulled the small vial of shards from inside her blouse and tapped it. "Like I said, I'm here to make sure Inuyasha doesn't get out of this, and neither can I."

Kouga looked painfully perplexed and doubtful, but at least the determined look was gone. She sighed audibly, and put a hand on his arm. "Kouga, you have no idea how much I appreciate you being here with me right now. I needed a friend."

"A…friend," he repeated, sounding hurt. "Why do you keep calling me that?" When Kagome blinked in confusion, he put his hand under her chin and turned up her face so she was looking at him square in the eyes. Kagome's cheeks erupted with a hot pink flush as he brushed his lips over hers. "You're my woman," he whispered, giving her goosebumps. "Don't you know what that means?" Before she could answer, he pressed his mouth firmly over hers.

She felt very hot at first, and then her head felt like it was floating. *My first kiss,* she thought with no small amount of wonder.

Kouga was expecting to get the beating of his life for what he was doing, so it was no small surprise to him when he felt her return the kiss, albeit hesitantly. He grinned against her lips, his fang scraping her lip lightly and drawing blood.

Although it didn't really hurt, the sensation brought her back to reality sooner than he would have liked. With a muffled gasp, she pulled away.

"Well, well, what's this?"

Kagome squeaked when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Kagome, I would never have thought of you as the unfaithful type." There was mischief in that voice, and Kagome recognized it. "It's a good thing we decided to leave Shippo behind with Kirara. This is no sight for a young one's eyes." Just then, the hand slid down lower from her shoulder…and she had no doubt that it was Miroku.

"Hands off, lecher!" Kouga was stomping the houshi's head into the ground, while Sango headed toward him with a poised Hiraikotsu.

"I told you not to do that anymore!" she said, looking very intimidating. Miroku recovered miraculously from the beating Kouga had just given him long enough to throw himself at the taijiya's feet. "I was just reassuring Kagome," he started. It earned him a good whack, and he was unconscious for a good five minutes after that.

Kagome, meanwhile, was blushing crazily. She didn't quite believe that she had just been kissed by another demon. Or that she had actually kissed him back, and it had felt so…good. She blinked and shook her head. "This isn't right," she told herself quietly. "I love Inuyasha." She hesitated a bit, thinking. "No matter how much I enjoyed it."

The wolf youkai turned to look at her. She hadn't remembered how keen a demon's sense of hearing was. A satisfied grin was plastered on his face when a flutter of fabric was heard behind the group.

They all turned, and quieted when they saw Inuyasha walking toward them. His eyes were hard, and his lips were set in a firm line. He was clearly not going to talk about where he had been to any of them, so they held in their questions.

"I told you to wait back on the path," he said impatiently, walking past them all. "Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" Miroku and Sango stood silently, looking from Kagome to Inuyasha curiously. "I wonder if she ever even got to where he was," Miroku whispered, and Sango cast a quick glance at Kagome. The girl was still blushing, but her eyes looked hurt.

"No, Houshi-sama," she said gravely. "I think maybe she did make it there. I wonder what she saw this time, though, that would make her allow such a thing to happen."

"What are you whispering about?" Inuyasha startled the two, and they quickly put on innocent faces. "Nothing at all, Inuyasha," Miroku said, waving his hands in front of him. "Nothing," Sango said, although she was looking at him rather coldly.

"Feh!" The hanyou shrugged, then turned to Kagome. "Let's go, wench. There's still a long way to go if…"

He stopped in mid-sentence as his nose picked up the scent that he feared most; Kagome's blood. "Kagome?" He was at her side before she had time to blink, looking her over with a worried expression. "Where are you bleeding? Are you hurt?"

Kagome suddenly felt very, very horrible. "No, Inuyasha, it's nothing," she said quickly, reaching up and wiping the small spot of blood from her lower lip. He looked at her suspiciously, and she felt her heart speed up when he sniffed a couple of times right by her face.

His eyes suddenly grew hard again, and he looked at her very strangely. "Let's go," he said curtly, turning and heading back toward the path. Kagome stared after him, feeling her heart lurch. She followed automatically, and the others did the same.

As he passed the wolf youkai, Inuyasha threw a hate-laden glare in his direction.

Kouga smirked. *Inukkuro must have figured it out,* he thought as he fell back and followed the group. *Now we're getting somewhere.*

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The Soul-Gatherers were flying languidly over the lands, staying close to the treetops so as not to be detected in the broad daylight. Their newly adopted mistress was among them, deep in thought, when the entourage suddenly halted.

Ahead of them, a swarm of large insects hovered in a cloud so thick that they dared not go through. From the midst of that horde, a deep, refined voice chuckled.

"It is as I once believed," it said, evil mirth permeating the words. "Your love was worthless. He has replaced you so quickly, Kikyo, as if you never existed. What a pathetic soul."

The undead miko looked ahead, her face blank. "Speak clearly Naraku. I don't believe you came here just to gloat over your twisted fantasies. What manner of entrapment are you planning to set up this time?"

Naraku chuckled again. "Impatient, aren't we, Kikyo?" The Saimyousho (spelling?) shifted. "I do indeed have a plan to bring about the demise of Inuyasha. But it involves someone that you may be interested in as much as I."

Kikyo moved closer to the swarm, despite the agitated movements that the Soul-Gatherers were making. "My little reincarnation, I suppose?" She narrowed her eyes, and the air grew cold around her. "Speak, and we shall see what may be done."

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I've finished another chapter, and I've added some plot thickener! Inspiration is a wonderful thing. Tell me what you think!